Bad Weather Revisited
by RyuravenFox
Summary: Annie doesn't have any friends. But when she is paired together with Mikasa for a groupwork, they slowly become friends, and more. Rewritten version of an old story, plus the epilogue I promised. Beta read by erurink from tumblr.
1. Chapter 1: A Storm Rolls In

**Chapter 1: A Storm Rolls In**

It was near the end of February, but snowflakes still fell out of the gray sky. Annie sighed as she walked through the filthy drab next to the road. So much for the sidewalk. It was a Friday, and that was the only good thing about the day. The weekends were her only chance to escape from the drag that was the life of a high school student. She turned left at the crossroads, and her destination came in sight. Several teens hurried towards the school, entering the warm building as fast as they could. Only a few lingered in front of the school gate, lips shivering as they blew out the smoke from their cigarettes.

Annie took a breath before she passed them, not wanting to inhale the smoke clouding her path. She entered the building, the hallway was noisy and the floor wet and filthy, making walking around another challenge added to her day. She forced her way through the crowd, hoping to find at least one quiet corner in one of the many corridors. When she didn't, she decided to go to her first class instead.

Most of her classmates were already seated, chatting with their friends. Annie slouched to her usual seat in the back of the class, next to the window. She glanced over to the smiling faces of her classmates, of whom she didn't even know half by name, despite having been in the same class for years.

The teacher entered, drowning the voices as they immediately started where they had left of at their previous lesson. It didn't take long before Annie averted her gaze, blankly staring at the icicles formed on the window. No matter how enthusiastic Hanji was, she had never managed to get Annie to show even the slightest interest in what she was saying. She had always been able to pass to the next grade, and this was her last year, so there was no need to start putting an effort into it now.

"I will give you the last five minutes to discuss your group work, but remember, it has to be done by next Wednesday!" Hanji said, disturbing Annie's thoughts.

She had completely forgotten about the group work, and couldn't even remember who she was paired up with. Thankfully, or rather, unluckily, a very annoyed looking Mikasa came to remind her just who her partner for said assignment was.

"It is called a group work for a reason, you know." Mikasa placed her hand on Annie's desk, her frown making it clear she would not take any excuses for an answer.

"So?" Annie replied in a monotone voice, meeting Mikasa's eyes with the most uninterested look she could manage.

"It's been two weeks and we still have nothing. _I_ already did some research and should have all the information we need, but I'm not going to do this alone."

"Why not? You just said you have everything you need." It wasn't that she hated homework so much, but she simply had a lot of other things to do. And that did not include spending time with the one person carrying the title of being her rival.

"We get points for cooperation. If miss Zoe finds out I did it all by myself, she'll fail us both."

"I don't care about grades." Annie lied.

"Geez, Leonhardt! Would it kill you to make your homework for once in your life?" she paused a moment, but when Annie didn't respond she sighed and said, "If you don't care about your own grades that's just fine by me, but my grades depend on this too. So please show me you're not as cold-hearted as everyone says and help me out, even if it's just a little."

Annie averted her gaze, there was no way she could refuse after those words, not when they were spoken on such a pleading tone. "Fine," she muttered.

" _Thank you_." Mikasa emphasized her words by raising a hand to her chest, then took an empty chair and sat down next to Annie. "Now, we have a lot of work to do so I think we will need most of the weekend to finish it."

"What? On the weekend?" Her voice held more panic than she wanted.

Mikasa raised an eyebrow at her tone and said, "If we wait until Monday we simply won't have enough time. Sorry if you already made plans, but you should have thought about our group work first."

Annie sighed again. She didn't know Mikasa that well, but she knew she wouldn't be able to get out of this one. "Okay, so exactly how did you plan on doing this?"

"If I remember correctly you live pretty close to school, so maybe we could do it at your place, if that's okay with you of course," Mikasa quickly added.

"How do you know where I live?" Mikasa opened her mouth to answer, but Annie shook her head. "Doesn't matter, you can come over if you want. Just let me know what time you wanna start. The sooner this is over the better."

"Well, if you think about it that way... perhaps we can start today, right after school."

[RIIIIIIIIIIIING]

"Alright." Annie shrugged and picked up her bag, walking out of the classroom. She had never let any of her classmates even remotely close to her home, and the mere thought of having the strong, beautiful, smart Mikasa over made a knot form in her stomach. But that wasn't something she'd ever admit to her rival.

The day finally came to an end, and Annie pulled her hood up to avoid getting her hair wet. The snow had turned into rain during the day, making the drab on the ground thinner but more slippery. Summer couldn't come soon enough.

As Annie walked through the crowd at the gate, someone placed a hand on her shoulder, forcing her to stop. Annie turned around with an angry scowl on her face, staring straight in the eyes of the person she had hoped not to see again.

"Shall we go together?" Mikasa's tone was friendly.

Annie pulled her shoulder loose, and allowed Mikasa to fall into step next to her. The school was located near the outskirts of the city, and they soon left the houses behind them. After not having seen any buildings for a couple of minutes, a villa came within sights, surrounded by a wide field of grass and trees.

The snow was completely molten over the length of the driveway, the gravel crunching as they walked over it. The walls of the villa were painted white, and big windows were becoming more like waterfalls with each passing minute. Annie pulled the key from her pocket and opened the door with shivering hands, then quickly let herself and her guest in.

They hung their jackets on the hook in the hall, and left their boots on the mat. Annie opened the first door to their right, leading them to the living room. The room was spacious, and the lack of furniture made it seem even larger. Only a muddy brown couch and a low wooden table near the fireplace showed that the room was used.

Annie dropped her soaked bag near the fireplace, and took a lighter out of her pocket while Mikasa followed her example.

The taller girl looked around the room while Annie tried to get a fire started. The walls were white and empty, rain streaming down the glass.

"Have you always lived here?" Mikasa asked.

"Yeah," Annie replied absent minded.

No wonder Annie was always so gloomy. Despite the rain and cold being kept away, the house still emanated a depressing feeling. The fire had now grown enough to burn without help, and Mikasa went to warm herself by it. Annie left the room, and came back a little later wearing a fresh set of clothes and carrying towels and blankets. The girls dried their hair and sat down close to the fire, wrapped in a blanket.

"So... what was the topic of our work?" Annie asked, hoping Mikasa wouldn't scold her for forgetting.

"Environment friendly transportation. Everything there is, and some further explanation as to why and safety." she replied in an annoyed tone.

Annie sighed as Mikasa took a folder filled with papers out of her bag. Annie wondered just how big their project had to be for them to need this much information. They got started, and thanks to Mikasa's previously gathered information they were able to write down quite a few pages by the time their stomachs started to growl.

"How about we take a break and eat something?" Mikasa asked.

Annie stretched and yawned, "There's some soup left in the kitchen, we can have some bread with it."

"Is that all you have?" Mikasa asked cautiously.

"At the moment. It's a bit late to start cooking so that will have to do. You coming?" Annie stood up and walked towards the door.

Mikasa followed her towards the kitchen. Unlike the living room, the kitchen had plenty of furniture, making it seem like they entered an entirely different house. A wide variety of pots and pans was displayed on a shelf, all of them shining as if they were bought today. More spices than Mikasa had ever seen stood in a custom made rack next to the stove, a clear sign of someone who enjoys cooking. When Annie opened a cabinet and took some bowls, Mikasa noticed that the upper shelves of the cabinet were empty. /

"Do you live here on your own?"

"Since a few years ago," Annie confirmed her suspicions.

"Where are your parents?"

"That's none of your business," Annie snapped.

This was exactly why she didn't want to get involved with others, they only kept asking about things they had no business with. Was that damn group work really worth going through all this trouble for? Ignoring the apology of her guest, Annie filled the bowls with soup and put them in the microwave. While she waited for their meal to warm up, she retrieved the bread from a different cabinet, constantly feeling Mikasa's eyes on her.

They started their meal and Mikasa tried the soup, her face lighting up. "This is delicious! And you made this yourself?"

"Yeah." Annie replied slightly surprised, she had not expected Mikasa to start praising her.

After dinner they worked a little further, the rain gushing down harder and harder, slowly turning into hail. Despite the rolling of thunder and flashes of lightning that broke through the endless downpour, they didn't notice how bad the weather had become, until Mikasa got a phone call.

"Hello, Grisha? ...yeah, I'm still at Annie's... Is the weather really that bad? ...okay, I'll ask her." She looked at Annie, who had been staring into the fire. "Annie, apparently the weather is too dangerous to drive in. Would you mind if I stay for the night?"

"Oh, um, I had no plans for that but I can fix you a place to sleep, I guess." It was not like she had much of a choice in the matter.

Mikasa ended her phone call a bit later, and looked at the papers in front of her with a sigh. "I think we did enough for today," she said and started collecting them. They had been sitting in silence for a few minutes when Mikasa tried to start a conversation. "So… what do you usually do during the weekends?"

"Nothing really." Annie mumbled, her eyes still captivated by the dancing flames.

"I mostly play games with Eren, it is fun, but when he loses he always gets angry and throws the cards around." She chuckled, hoping to get some sort of response from the blonde. When she didn't get that, another silence fell between them. Mikasa tried starting a conversation a couple more times, but with the amount of reaction she got from Annie, she might as well have been talking to the walls. She sighed and checked her watch. It was a little past nine. Perhaps one last try would get Annie to tear her eyes away from the fire. "Just sitting here is kind of boring, but it's too early to sleep. Would you mind showing me the rest of your house?"

It worked. Annie's head turned to stare at her for a while, then she sighed and slowly rose to her feet, leading Mikasa through the many rooms. Most were empty, save for a closet or a table. Even the bathroom wasn't as full as the kitchen. The biggest surprise came when they entered the basement. It was clean, a boxing bag hung in a corner with a wide ring of clear space surrounding it. Iron racks filled the rest of the basement, tons of parts and gas bottles resting on their shelves. One completed set showed what the parts were for.

"Is that a 3DMG? But Annie, that's illegal." She knew this because she had come across it when she gathered the information for their project, but decided not to use it since it was banned shortly after being introduced to the market.

"No it isn't." Annie disagreed. "Selling them is illegal, simply owning them isn't."

"Where do you get that idea?"

"My dad used to sell them, back when it was still legal. It was really expensive, so it barely sold. But there were some idiots who thought they didn't need the instructions and got themselves killed. It was all over the news how dangerous it was so there were people returning them. And since there barely was anyone who still had 3DMG they just put a hold to selling them, not owning or using them."

Mikasa took in what she had just heard, slightly surprised at how much Annie had said. "Do you know how to use it?" she asked tentatively.

"Yeah..." Annie rewarded her with a small smile.

"What is it like?"

"Well, it's hard at the beginning, but once you get used to it, it becomes second nature. It feels like you can fly. Rainy and cold weather are not the greatest since there is a lot of wind at that speed, but it is the best feeling in the world."

Mikasa smiled at the emotion in Annie's usually cold voice. The mere mention of the 3DMG had brought out an entirely different side from the girl. It made her seem more approachable, and Mikasa would pay just to see that beautiful smile again. "Can you teach me?"

"Errr... it's not really something you can do indoors." Annie said, being caught off guard. "But I can give you the instruction manual if you want." she said, reaching in a box and handing a small book to Mikasa.

"Thanks, Annie. Will you teach me when the weather is better?"

"Uh, sure, I guess."

"It's a promise." Mikasa smiled, pressing the manual to her chest.

Annie's eyebrows raised slightly in worry, but she couldn't help the small smile that crept up her face. Together they went back upstairs, to the first floor, and entered Annie's room. It was obviously where Annie spent most of her time. The room was only half as big as the living room, but packed with stuff. A king-sized bed stood in the middle of the right wall, above the bed hung an enlarged picture of a lake surrounded by trees, taken from a high place. At the opposing wall stood a desk with a TV and a laptop.

Next to the door were two closets, and the floor near the opposing wall was slightly higher than the rest of the floor, making it level with the wide windows. Pictures hung at every visible spot on the walls, making it impossible to know what color the tapestry had. Stuffed animals were scattered all over the room, and Annie nervously rubbed her arm, eyeing the clothes lying on the floor.

"Wow," was all Mikasa could say. Annie lifted her gaze from the dirty laundry and warily glanced at Mikasa. "This is so different from the rest of the house, it's almost like a different world."

"... Is that a good thing?" Annie asked.

"I don't get you. You live by yourself, yet you still keep everything in your room. If you decorated the whole house like this it would be really cheerful, not depressing like it is now."

"..."

"I don't… I mean, it just seems a bit gloomy with so little furniture. As if there isn't anyone actually living there." Annie scowled at her. Who was she to judge her? "…But maybe the house reflects its owner very well. You always seem so... distant, but maybe, deep inside you're actually a warm and caring girl." Mikasa carefully added.

Annie felt her cheeks getting hot. She couldn't think of anything to say. She really _really_ shouldn't have let Mikasa into her house.

Mikasa came a little closer, a cautious look on her face. "Don't you feel lonely, always being by yourself like that?"

Annie still couldn't think of anything to say. Since when was Mikasa so good at reading her? No, she wasn't reading her, and that stingy feeling in her eyes was her just being tired, nothing more. Actually, why was she saying any of these things? This was not the Mikasa she knew. And why should she care anyway?

Just as she was about to tell her off, Mikasa surprised her by pulling her in a hug, not very tight, so she could still push her away if she wanted to. Annie's pulse spiked and her muscles tensed, she could feel Mikasa's hair tickling her ear, her oddly calming scent entering her nostrils. They stood like that for a few minutes, then Annie felt safe enough to put her hands on Mikasa's waist, barely touching, but enough to feel the warmth. She let out a shuddering breath. As much as she liked it, she was also slightly frightened by what was happening.

 _Why? Why do I like this so much?_ Mikasa was the one she got into most fights with, they were rivals, it didn't make any sense. Yet there she was, unable to let go of her. Mikasa stroked her back.

"Don't worry, I will stay with you as long as you want."

Annie didn't respond. She tried ordering her body to hold on tighter or let go, but her body simply wouldn't move, as if she was frozen in an eternal moment. When she finally regained control over her limbs and was able to let go, she looked everywhere except at Mikasa's face.

"It's past ten already, maybe we should go to bed." Mikasa broke the silence. "Where can I sleep?"

"Um..." Annie tried to will the strange feeling away. "On the couch downstairs. I don't have any extra beds. Will the blankets we left there do?"

"Yes. Goodnight, Annie." Mikasa kissed her on her cheek, and left the room.

Annie sank down onto her bed and grabbed one of her stuffed animals, hugging it until she fell asleep, still not quite sure what had happened today.

It was still early in the morning, or at least, early for a morning in the weekend. Last night's storm had passed and took all the clouds with it, allowing the sun to melt the thin layer of ice covering the earth. Annie was in the kitchen, making an omelet, humming as she did so. She was so completely focused on preparing the food, she didn't hear Mikasa enter and jumped when she heard a voice in her ear.

"Good morning, Annie. What are you making?"

Annie cursed under her breath and whipped her head around to find Mikasa standing right behind her, hair messy from sleeping.

"Mikasa? Oh, um… yeah..." She completely forgot the other girl was staying over.

"Did I scare you? Do I really look that bad?" Mikasa started combing through her hair with her fingers.

"Uh, no, you look good. Um... I mean ... I'm making an omelet, you want one too?"

"I'd like that."

Annie slid the omelet on a plate and placed it in front of Mikasa, before starting on a second one for herself. They ate in silence, and Annie found herself throwing glances at Mikasa all the time. What had gotten into her? Why did she feel so at ease having the other girl in her house? As if to answer the question she asked herself, an emotion welled up inside of her. She immediately pushed it away. Emotions were not something she needed. She probably just wasn't used to having someone sleep over, nor interacting with other humans so soon after waking. Deciding her weird feelings were only there because of the unusual circumstances, she pulled up her walls again. They would finish the assignment, say goodbye, and never speak to each other again. It wouldn't take long before they were back to glaring at each other and trying to smash a ball in the other's face during PE.

Despite their work the previous evening, it still took them nearly two full hours to finish the task. "Would you mind if I stayed for lunch?" Mikasa asked after she had tucked the papers safely into her bag.

"Yes, I would mind. The work is finished, so just go home." Her tone was cold, and she lead Mikasa to the hall, making her point clear.

"Okay." She looked a bit hurt as she pulled on her boots. "I'll see you on Monday." Once outside she looked over her shoulder, thinking of the previous day. She had hoped to get to know Annie better, but whatever let her open up the previous night, it was gone now.

Annie leaned her head against the closed front door. Why did it hurt to make the right decision? She sighed as she pushed herself away, and had a meal before she went to the basement. She put on her gear, remembering just how much she had told Mikasa in her moment of weakness. She walked out to the forest, letting the cables of her gear lift her in the air, and allowed the movement to empty her mind. The cables shot from one branch to another, wood splintering where the hooks hit them. She gathered more and more speed, and soon her hands were freezing, despite the thick gloves she wore.

For a split second the memory of Mikasa kissing her cheek the night before flashed through her mind, and she lost focus. Her cable shot past the branch she aimed for, catching nothing but air. The momentum carried her only a bit further before she started to drop towards the ground at an alarming speed. Suddenly she was yanked to a stop, her entire body aching from the strain as she swung back and forth. She sighed in relief as she looked up at the second cable, thank heavens she hadn't released that one yet.

After she recovered from the shock, she launched her cables again, but flew a bit slower this time. At long last she reached her favorite spot. High in a tree, the topmost branch that was able to carry her weight. She looked up at the clear blue sky, a light breeze playing with her hair, and slowly lowered her gaze to the frozen lake before her.

A couple of deer were grazing at the right side of the lake, while a fox trotted on the left, stopping occasionally to sniff the ground. Pine trees surrounded the area, their needles white with frost.

Annie sat down. No matter the season, no matter the weather, this place would always be the most beautiful in the world. Even after the hardest of days, simply looking at the scene could calm her and make her forget about all the hardships of life. But today was different. Today her thoughts went back to Mikasa over and over.

"God damn it!" she shouted, startling a couple of birds.

Why couldn't she get the damn girl out of her mind?

Only when the sun started to set she headed home, without being able to enjoy the view as much as she had wanted to. The next day was no different, and for the first time, instead of relieving her stress during the weekend, she had gathered a whole new kind.


	2. Chapter 2: A Bird Takes Flight

**Chapter 2: A Bird Takes Flight**

Annie weaved her way through the students hanging around the gates, through the hallways, into her first class. The room was still absent from any signs of life, at least one thing that went her way. She sat down in the back, next to the window, and crossed her arms on her desk, resting her head on her improvised pillow. Even now she couldn't get Mikasa out of her head, like a constant pest telling her she couldn't control her emotions as well as she liked to anymore. Just what was it about her that had made such an impact on her?

"Annie?" a quiet voice interrupted her thoughts.

She raised her head, scowling at whoever dared to disturb her. Outside of her will, her scowl weakened when she saw Mikasa standing in front of her. "What?" she asked in an annoyed tone.

"I read that guide you lent me." She held out the small book.

Annie nearly yanked it from her hands, being way too conscious of the brief moment their skin touched. She could feel her cheeks getting hot, and quickly returned to her previous position, hiding her face from view. Just what on earth was wrong with her? Did she have some Mikasa-cold?

"So..." Mikasa started. "When do you think you can start teaching me?"

Annie tilted her head and peeked at her over the sleeve of her sweater. Did she seriously want to learn operating a 3DMG? "Never." She could feel the word cut through the taller girl's expectations as if it were her own.

"What? But you promised."

"I never said anything like that." The teacher walked in and Mikasa retreated to her seat, disappointment visible on her face. But unlike Annie had hoped, Mikasa didn't drop it. Every break between the lessons, before and after school, Mikasa would find her and ask the same question over and over. By Thursday afternoon she couldn't take it anymore, seeing that disappointed look in Mikasa's eyes each time she said no; feeling the pang of guilt in her chest each time those gorgeous brown eyes fell to the floor, the sad nod that preceded the moment she turned her back towards Annie. "Fine! I'll teach you. But for the love of god, please stop begging."

"Thank you, Annie." Mikasa beamed.

"One hour, no more." Annie said on a strict tone.

"Ok, I'll do my best to pick it up fast, then."

"Whatever." Annie said and stalked of. If she had to look at that bright face any longer she didn't know what would happen, and really, she did not want to find out.

They had agreed to meet on Saturday at eleven. Annie had spent most of the morning putting together an equipment set for Mikasa, only to realize she could have let her do it after she finished it. She shook her head at her own foolishness, and headed up as she heard the doorbell ring, trying her best to repress her excitement as she opened the door.

"Hi, Annie." Mikasa smiled widely.

Annie let her in without saying a word, and guided her to the basement. The two gears hung on the side of some shelves. Annie pointed at one of them and said, "That's your gear, if you don't know how to put it on, there's a manual on top of the shelf."

Mikasa struggled a little with the belts, and gave Annie an unsure look when she was finished. "Can you check if I'm wearing this right?" Annie reluctantly started checking the many belts and buckles that now covered Mikasa's body, hoping the sudden temperature increase of her cheeks wasn't visible. When she was sure the harness was equipped properly, she hooked Mikasa's wires through loops in the ceiling to test her balance, which she easily pulled off. After that they headed outside, coming to a halt just before the tree line.

"Do you know how to operate it?" Annie asked, knowing the manual explained it in detail.

"I think so." Mikasa said, looking at the multiple triggers on the handle.

"Okay, aim for the branches, just go a few meters into the forest and then come back. Don't worry about missing, the wires won't hurt you when they are reeled back in."

Mikasa nodded and aimed for a branch about tree meters above the ground. The cable shot out, successfully hitting its target. She pulled the trigger, but the speed surprised her and she was unable to launch her second wire.

Annie watched amusedly at Mikasa's clumsy descent. Over and over she tried, not managing to get further than her first try, until she figured out how to adjust her speed, and before half of the hour had passed, she was able to finish the short trail.

"Not bad," Annie remarked. "Do it again, but faster this time." Mikasa disappeared in the trees once more, increasing her speed by a little. "Faster." was all Annie said when she returned. Another fifteen minutes passed, but she was still unable to reach the speed Annie wanted to see. "Alright then," Annie sighed, "Try to follow me."

Annie leapt into the trees, quickly gathering speed. When she took a turn she could see the red fabric of Mikasa's scarf, and decided to pick up the pace even more. She hadn't planned on going somewhere specific, but abruptly stopped when she realized she automatically headed for the lake. She didn't want Mikasa to see her secret place. She had landed on a thick branch, glad that the lake was still out of view. Mikasa didn't expect the sudden stop, and ended up hanging by a single cable, swinging back and forth. A laugh escaped Annie as she saw her hanging there helplessly.

"Don't laugh!" Mikasa shouted as she flailed about. Eventually she managed to shoot her second cable and landed next to Annie, who still had a smile on her face. "Why did you stop all of a sudden?"

"Because the hour you have is nearly over," Annie reasoned quickly. "I'll race you back." Without so much as a warning she jumped off, giving herself a head start. She heard Mikasa shout something about being fair, and she chuckled.

Just as the house came into view, Mikasa passed her. Annie didn't have the time to get angry for losing as she saw Mikasa fall to the muddy ground in a failed attempt to stop. Annie landed next to her and held out a hand. She pulled Mikasa up, who avoided her amused gaze.

"Seems like we finally found something that miss perfect can't do." Annie teased.

Mikasa pulled her scarf up so only her eyes were visible. "If we didn't go that fast or if I had more time to practice that wouldn't have happened."

"Yeah, right." Annie quirked her eyebrows. But she knew Mikasa had a point, after all, she was a natural. More so than Annie had been when she first started. They went back inside to take off their equipment. Annie was going back outside as soon as Mikasa left, but she didn't want to let the other girl know what she would be doing.

"Can I come again next week?" Mikasa asked.

"No. I said one hour, no more. Or did you forget?"

"Aww, come on, it's so much fun." Mikasa looked at her with big eyes, like a child begging for candy.

"Err, no." Annie replied, taken aback by how adorable Mikasa was.

"Please?" That pleading tone seeped through the cracks of her carefully raised walls.

"Why? It's not like I get anything out of it." She tried to reason, more so with herself than with the owner of those captivating dark eyes.

"Do you mean you want money for it?" Mikasa's overly adorable expression disappeared, and Annie released a silent breath in relief.

Annie thought about it. She had to buy more gas, her stock was running out. It would be nice if she didn't have to pay for it herself. "Actually, that's not a bad idea." she said.

"Seriously? Since when do friends ask each other to pay for having fun?"

"I don't have friends." Annie felt the sting of her own words. Had she really come think of Mikasa as a friend? No, it couldn't be. "...But if you want to come again that badly, you might as well get something for me."

"Get what?" Mikasa's tone was weary.

Annie looked around for pen and paper, then wrote down the name of the company along with its contacts, the kind of gas and the amount she needed. She handed it to Mikasa, who studied it curiously. "If you get that you can come again for an hour next week." The gas was quite expensive, so Annie didn't expect to see her at her house again.

"Okay." Mikasa said, no emotion in her voice. She stared at Annie for a few seconds, then turned around with a sigh and left.

Annie sat down in the kitchen, reliving the past hour in her mind while eating her lunch. Despite all her efforts to keep herself from feeling any kind of emotion towards the other girl, she couldn't help but regret each cold and mean word that had left her lips. She returned to the forest, but similar to last weekend, she wasn't able to get Mikasa out of her head. Whenever she found a few seconds of peace, the beautiful girl would reclaim her grip on her thoughts, no matter how hard she tried to shut it out. She stared at the lake. Most of the ice had already melted, but the serenity of the view reflected nothing of her inner turmoil.

On Monday morning Annie walked through the hallways towards her first class, her mood worse than it had been in a long time, when a group of kids blocked her way. They were all a few years younger than her, but due to her small size they didn't notice she was a senior trying to get past.

"Move it." she said, but none of the kids seemed to hear her.

Her irritation got the better of her, and she grabbed a boy by his collar, throwing him aside while kicking another in the stomach, causing him the stagger out of the way. The rest of the group looked at her in fear, finally realizing who she was.

"Get out of my way." she said in a slow, venomous tone.

The kids ran off as fast as their legs could carry them, and Annie continued her way to class, throwing her bag down and crossing her arms on her desk, resting her head on them.

Just as she was about to doze off, someone poked her. She raised her head a bit with the scariest glare that was humanly possible, only to see a red scarf dangling in front of her. She sat up, her features softening to a scowl, waiting for Mikasa to speak.

"Why did you attack those kids?" Her voice held no blame, only honest curiosity.

"They were in the way," Annie said simply.

"That's no reason to hit them. Is something bothering you?"

"I don't know, maybe having my weekend completely ruined had something to do with it."

"Are you... talking about me?" Annie remained silent, but her face told everything. "But you were having fun. In fact, that was the first time I heard you laugh."

Annie lowered her eyes, true, she had fun watching Mikasa fall flat out on the ground, just remembering it made her smile. It wasn't Mikasa's, nor those kids' fault that she was having a war with her own feelings.

"See, you're smiling." Mikasa playfully poked her cheek. "No way I ruined your weekend." Annie pointedly stared out the window, leaning her face in her hand to hide a blush. "Now, what I really wanted to ask you about is that gas." Mikasa changed the subject. "It's really expensive. What do you need it for?"

"Those gears don't run on air." Annie muttered.

"I see. But that's still a lot of money, especially when all I get in return is one hour of flying around in the woods."

Annie turned to look at her again. "You'd actually buy it?" she said, eyes wide in surprise.

"Maybe, if you would be so kind to let me cheer up your weekend for longer than just one hour."

She fought a smile at Mikasa's words. It was quite clear that trying to suppress her emotions or keeping Mikasa away wasn't working. Perhaps spending more time with her would help her to finally make sense of it all. "Fine." she said, smiling slightly as she remembered how Mikasa had been hanging helplessly from one cable. Next time, she would bring her camera.

Annie turned off the stove. The soup was ready. All she had to do when she came back was warm it and cook the rest while she ate the soup. She glanced at the clock. Just when the digits skipped to eleven she heard the doorbell ring. She took off her apron and went to open the door.

Mikasa smiled at her while carrying a rather heavy crate, her parents' car only leaving when Annie let her in. Mikasa sniffed the air. "Something smells good."

"Well, you're not getting any. You didn't do anything yet."

"Hey! I brought you all this gas!"

"So _that's_ what I'm smelling! Mikasa, I really thought you had better manners." She waved her hand in front of her, then lead the way to the basement, where they left the crate and put on their gear.

"Why are you taking a camera with you?" Mikasa asked as they walked towards the forest.

"To capture the scenery." Mikasa missed the devious smile that flashed over her lips. "Well then, we better get started, follow me!" She immediately went for high speed, getting her trap ready. After going for a few minutes, she turned right and come to a sudden stop. And just as she had expected, a heavily cursing Mikasa hung by a single cable, at the last tree before the forest made way for a farm field. Annie held back her laughter, lifting her camera and snapped a picture.

"What are you doing?" Mikasa shouted as she saw the flash.

"Just capturing the scenery." Annie managed before bursting out into laughter.

"You did this on purpose!" She managed to straighten herself and shot her second cable to land next to a still laughing Annie. "Would you please stop laughing?"

Annie pressed her lips together and stifled her giggles, lifted her camera and snapped a shot of Mikasa's flustered face, before bursting out in laughter again. Mikasa glared half-heartedly at her and took the camera from Annie's hands, hanging it around her neck, then quickly launched herself into the forest.

"Hey! Give it back!" Annie shouted, giving chase to Mikasa. When she almost caught up to her, Mikasa turned left and stopped, hoping to see Annie hanging there as she had. But Annie simply landed next to her, stretching out her hand. "Give back my camera."

"How can you do that? I always notice too late when you stop."

"Maybe I'm just better than you."

Mikasa handed her the camera. "And here I hoped to snap a picture of you hanging there."

"You'll need to get better before you have a chance at tricking me." Mikasa's stomach growled, successfully returning a smile to Annie's face. "How about we go shut your tummy up?" Annie said and lead the way back to her house.

Annie turned on the stove and took a couple of bowls and plates out of the closet. "I'll take those." Mikasa reached for the dishes and Annie started on the rest of their meal.

Soon the soup was warm and they started eating, Annie often turning around to check on the rest of the food. She had done a great job at guessing how much they both would eat. Only a few potatoes were left over.

"Annie, that was delicious. Where did you learn to cook like that?"

The blonde shrugged. "I had someone to help me at first, but we basically started by making recipes from books, but once I got used to it I just started doing it on feeling."

"There are only a handful of things I can make without needing a recipe, but the result is nowhere near as good as this."

Annie blushed. "If you want to eat here more often you could just say so. You don't need to start praising me."

Mikasa simply smiled as they cleaned the table and washed the dishes. It started raining and the girls decided to stay inside until the clouds had passed. They sat at the table, listening to the raindrops pattering the window.

"We got an A on our work the other day," Mikasa started.

"Hmm."

"It was nice of you to help out. I really thought you would've let me do it on my own."

"You still did most of the work. You could have done it on your own and still aced it."

"Sure, I got the information beforehand and wrote most of it down, but I made sure to only write down what you told me to. If you were to try I'm sure you'll be at the top of the class."

"I don't care about grades."

"Then what do you care about?"

"... Pictures." Annie replied, demonstratively picking up her camera and snapping a picture of Mikasa.

"That's all?"

She ignored the voice in her head saying 'you'. "I guess... what do you care about?"

"Well, school, obviously. And my family."

"I thought you lived with the Jeagers?"

"My parents died in a car accident when I was eight. Eren's parents took me in. They are my family now."

"... Sorry." Annie said, feeling a bit weird as she placed a hand on Mikasa's arm.

"That's okay," she said with a weak smile. "May I ask why you are living on your own?"

"... My mom died right after she gave birth to me, so I never knew her." Annie's bored expression turned into an unreadable mask as she continued. "Dad came to me one day, giving me a weird apology... then he said he had to leave to do something important somewhere. Never saw him again."

Mikasa placed her hand on top of Annie's. "He just left you? Why didn't he drop you off at family or friends?"

"... He said he was the only person who cares for me... and that I should never trust anyone." she muttered.

It took Mikasa a moment before she understood what the quietly spoken words were, and when she did, she walked over to Annie and pulled her in a hug. "I care for you."

Annie sat motionless in her chair, head pressed against Mikasa's belly, slowly taking in the words she just heard. "You do?" she asked quietly.

"Yes." she patted her head. "You can be really annoying and mean, but once you drop the act you're a very sweet girl. A girl... that I'm happy to call my friend."

Annie put a hand around Mikasa's waist, returning the embrace. It was hard to put down her guard, but when she was with Mikasa, it just was increasingly hard not to do so. It also felt good to be able to talk a bit, but she didn't trust her enough yet to do more than sum up the events in short sentences. "I could say just the same about you," She whispered.

"So... you're happy to call me your friend as well?"

"...Yes." Annie smiled against Mikasa's belly, glad that the girl couldn't see her face.

The rain stopped and the girls broke off their embrace to go back outside. Without saying much, they flung their cables at the trees, Mikasa taking the lead. Annie's mind was busy with different matters.

In the few weeks that they got to know each other, Mikasa had shown her nothing but warmth and understanding. She had tried her hardest to push her away, and yet she had stayed. No matter what, Annie didn't want to lose what they had now. Keeping things like they were was probably for the best, yet somehow it didn't quite feel like it was enough.

She kept following Mikasa for a while longer, trying to decide what she should do. She took a deep breath, attempting to gather some courage, then bypassed Mikasa, having the dark-haired girl follow her instead.

Annie slowed down and landed on a thick branch. Normally she would've picked a higher branch, but those weren't strong enough to support the weight of two people. Mikasa landed next to her and looked at the view. A big lake stretched out in front of them, reflecting the gray sky. Mikasa had seen that lake somewhere before, in Annie's room. It was the big picture above her bed, and also on different small ones spread over the walls.

Annie sat down, and Mikasa did the same. They both watched a group of deer walk out of the forest to drink at the lake.

"This is beautiful." Mikasa said.

"Yeah. This is my favorite place. No matter what happens, coming here always makes me feel better."

"Really? It must be nice to have a place like that. Thank you for showing it to me." Annie looked at Mikasa, who smiled at her and turned her gaze back to the scenery. Annie kept staring at her, silently fighting with her feelings, tensing up as childhood memories floated to the surface of her mind. When she was little, she had a friend, but her father didn't approve. He limited their time together as much as he could, and ensured she showed herself from the worst possible side whenever they could hang out. Annie shook her head to clear her thoughts. By now she knew she had to be honest and not to hide her feelings, and he wasn't here to ruin everything. But simply knowing that, didn't mean she could do it. After a few minutes of struggling with herself, Annie continued the conversation.

"You know... lately being here hasn't been able to make me feel so good anymore." Mikasa returned her attention to Annie, waiting for her to go on. "I just couldn't stop thinking..." her voice lowered, "... about what happened last time you were here." Her gaze was fixed on the lake. She didn't dare to look at Mikasa.

"Is that why you said I ruined your weekend?"

Annie intertwined her fingers and muttered quietly, "Pretty much."

"Do you have a cell phone?" Mikasa said, changing the subject.

"Um, yeah?" she gave Mikasa a confused look. "I don't really use it much though. Why do you ask?"

"So we can text and call each other. Maybe that might be able to cheer your weekends up. Aside from the moments that I'm here with you, of course." She playfully shoved Annie's shoulder.

"Whatever," Annie huffed.

They got up and went back to the house where Annie found her phone in a drawer, next to the charger. She plugged it in, knowing it was probably at the end of its battery power. Mikasa scooted over to Annie, and a teasing smile appeared on her face when she saw the phone.

"I was short on money and this was the cheapest I could find," Annie said quickly, wanting to prevent any comments. The phone was pink and decorated with hearts and flowers in different shades of pink.

"I had no idea you were _that_ short on money." Mikasa laughed.

"Shut up! Now give me your number. I'll send you a text because I keep forgetting what mine is."

Mikasa smiled as she gave her number, then realized it was getting late. "I guess I should be on my way home. I'll see you on Monday." Annie walked with her to the front door, then surprised Mikasa by giving her a hug. "Call me if you need anything," Mikasa said and quickly returned the hug.

She left and Annie went to print the pictures she took today so she could hang them up on the wall.

She stared at the pictures for a while, thinking. Whenever Mikasa was around, she found herself unable to refuse anything. Then she couldn't control her emotions anymore. She was no longer able to get the girl out of her head, and whenever she thought of her, she got this strange feeling. She wasn't even sure if it was a good or bad feeling, but it grew stronger over time. Her Mikasa-cold was turning more and more into a Mikasa-fever.


	3. Chapter 3: A Heartbeat Apart

**Chapter 3: A Heartbeat Apart**

Annie entered the school building, she was in a bad mood and glared at everyone who dared to get too close. She dropped her bag next to her desk and used her arms as pillow. She hadn't slept much, so she would try to use the time before class started to catch some more sleep. Just as she was about to doze off someone poked her. She slapped away the hand without even looking who it belonged to.

"Annie." As soon as she recognized the voice she raised her head. Mikasa smiled at her and sat down at the desk in front of her. "Did you have a nice weekend?"

They were alone in the classroom. "Saturday was nice. But Sunday was kind of boring." Annie couldn't help thinking confusing was a more accurate term.

"Same here. All I did yesterday was do homework. It's just crazy how much they give us."

"Well duh. If you keep doing it, they'll have to give you more work. Just do what I do, don't do it, and eventually they'll stop asking you to do it." It wasn't like she never did her homework, but living on her own in a large villa didn't make it easy. Most of the teachers knew about it, thanks to the principal taking an interest in her situation. That was the real reason they didn't press her so much about the homework so long as she did well on her tests.

"That's just because they gave up on you, but the result is visible on your grades."

"You sound just like a teacher, telling me I have bad grades and I should do something about it, while you know it's not really the most important thing in the world."

"I never said that much."

"You were thinking it."

"No. I was thinking about what could make you take this seriously."

"Don't waste your time on that. I'm not going to put more effort into school than I already am."

"And what if I were to teach you?"

"I thought I was teaching you," Annie said and pulled a picture out of her pocket. It was the picture were Mikasa hung upside down. "Seems to me like you're the one who needs lessons."

Mikasa blushed and grabbed at the picture, but Annie pulled it out of her reach.

"You know I'm better at it now, that doesn't happen anymore. I'm just as good at it as you."

"Hmm? I'll be the judge of that, after all, I'm the teacher here." Annie quirked her eyebrows, leaning in.

"Oh, really? Then please tell me, all-knowing teacher of mine, what is it that I can do to improve?" Mikasa moved closer as well, playing along.

Annie pretended to be thinking very hard. "That's hard to say. I have never met someone this bad. It would take years of practice, and very close study." she mimicked an old man's voice and leaned even closer as she said the last three words.

Mikasa's eyes flickered to Annie's lips. They were so close it would be so easy to kiss her. Instead, she took on a sarcastic tone and said, "I am truly lucky to have a teacher as patient as you, else what would become of me?"

Jean walked into the class, and came to an abrupt stop when he saw Mikasa and Annie giggling. "Wha-?" he sputtered. The two girls least likely to get along were _laughing_. _Together_. When they heard him the girls looked up, their usual expressions returning. After staring at his dumbfound face for a few seconds, the girls burst out in laughter again. Jean took a few steps back, bumping into Eren who had wanted to enter the classroom.

"Where do you think you're stepping?" Eren said in a cocky voice.

Jean turned around to face him. "Your foot, didn't notice?" He stomped on Eren's foot and the two boys started fighting.

"Oh, no. They're at it again." Mikasa said when her giggles subsided.

She started to get up but Annie held her down by her arm. "Let them be. They're not hurting anyone, it's just a game."

Mikasa looked at the boys a little longer. They were rolling over the floor in what looked like a fight, but their fists held no power. Why they were fighting without wanting to hurt each other was a mystery to her. She looked at Annie, who had taken to staring at her with slightly pink cheeks. Mikasa stared back into Annie's icy blue eyes, and she could swear the ice was melting from the slowly increasing heat of Annie's cheeks. Mikasa broke off their staring contest when the teacher pulled the boys apart and entered.

After a few hours of boring lecture Annie sat down in the corner of the lunch room. The food in her lunch box had her full attention and she almost jumped when someone sat down next to her. No one ever sat down next to her. She looked up and a small smile spread across her face when she saw Mikasa.

"Mind if I join you?" she asked.

"So long as you don't bring your idiotic friends along." Annie replied, eyeing the table Mikasa usually sat at.

"They're not idiots."

"Whatever, just make sure they stay where they are now."

Mikasa placed a finger against Annie's cheek and gently forced her to face her. "What is your problem? You don't even know them. You didn't know me either until a few weeks ago and now look where we are."

"But you are different."

"Different? How?" Mikasa raised an eyebrow.

"... You just kept trying no matter what I said," Annie muttered.

"So if they all try hard at being your friend then you'd eventually be friends with them all?"

"No..."

"Then what is it?" Mikasa was getting curious.

"I don't know, it's just… _you_ , I guess." Annie returned her attention to her lunch, slightly flustered.

"I wasn't planning on becoming friends either. Your reputation really dictates how people see you, which is, shortly put, a dangerous girl who somehow even gets the teachers to look the other way when it benefits her. I wasn't sure if I could believe it, and when we had to do that assignment together, I figured it was my chance to find out. If it proved true, I would show you your place, I guess. But instead I found a beautiful, strong girl that I really like."

Annie looked at Mikasa, unsure how to react. They both blushed lightly, and averted their gazes back to their respective lunches.

"Wow. I had no idea." Annie said softly.

"It's just, sometimes when you start to open up, you hit the brakes and push me away again. Please know that I won't turn you away simply because I learned something new about you." She squeezed Annie's shoulder. "I'll be here for you, no matter what happens, for as long as you want me to."

"Thanks," Annie mumbled, not quite sure how to handle such pure affection. They finished the rest of their lunch in silence, with the promise of eating lunch together more often.

On Tuesday they had PE, basketball. Usually during these games, Annie and Mikasa would start throwing the ball at each other's face as hard as they could, regardless of what team they were on. But this time, to everyone else's surprise, they worked perfectly together. Being the two most athletic girls, they easily won every match they played, despite Ymir's vigilant attempts to saving her team from suffering too much defeat. The gym teacher decided to make things even and switched Annie and Christa from their teams.

Annie still was not much of a team player, even though she managed to do well together with Mikasa now. The only one she ever passed the ball to was Ymir, after the latter had shouted a stream of game advise in her direction. It wasn't the best form of cooperation, and just as she was about to score Mikasa jumped and blocked the ball, allowing one of her teammates to catch it.

At this point everyone expected Annie to swing a fist or foot at Mikasa, but instead of doing that, she smirked. Mikasa replied with a smirk of her own and jogged away, receiving the ball from a teammate.

They blocked as much as they scored, and when the teacher blew his whistle to announce the end of the lesson, it was a draw. Annie and Mikasa walked up to each other.

"Not bad, we should play more often." Mikasa said.

"You're not too bad yourself, at this at least." Annie grinned.

Mikasa raised an eyebrow. "At this? I'll beat you at anything, any time."

"Challenge accepted. And I know just the thing to beat you at."

"Sure you do." Mikasa smiled and turned around, heading towards the changing room.

"Saturday, my place, ten o'clock." Annie smiled at Mikasa's thumbs up. She was totally going to win that match. It was not going to be a typical kind of match, but Mikasa said anything was fine, and she would regret having said that.

Annie opened the door and Mikasa entered. She hung her jacket on the hook and turned to Annie. "So, what kind of challenge do I get to beat you at today?" she asked. Annie showed her the wooden ladle she was holding. "Cooking. Though I doubt that you're up for the task."

Mikasa's smile dropped. Sure, she had helped out Eren's mom when making dinner, but she had no experience in actual cooking. Annie amusedly watched her reaction, and pressed the ladle against Mikasa's chin.

"You did say anything. But if you ask nicely, I won't tell too many people that you can't even cook." she teased.

Mikasa snatched the ladle and marched towards the kitchen. "I _can_ cook!" Annie giggled and followed after her. The kitchen table was loaded with all kinds of vegetables, and two pots stood waiting on the furnace. They washed their hands and tossed some oil in the pots. After turning her fire on Annie grabbed an onion and a knife, starting to cut it while explaining further.

"We are gonna make soup, then hand it out to people in the city, they get to decide the winner. And try not to copy me, it would be boring if we both had the same kind of soup. If you need something you don't see, just ask me."

"Okay..." Mikasa wished she had paid more attention when she had last helped out with cooking. She knew she had to start by simmering the onion. So she started cutting the onion while trying to remember the next step. She rubbed her prickling eyes. It was ruining her concentration.

"What's the matter, Mikasa? Does the thought of losing to me move you to tears?"

"Shut up. It's just that stupid onion."

"Don't rub your eyes and don't lean over it too much. Holding your wrists under cold water can help easing the sting."

Mikasa nodded and headed over to the sink, surprised when the cold water actually helped. After she finished cutting the onion she threw it in her pot, cursing as it started burning right away. She quickly dimmed her fire, and she could swear she heard Annie chuckle. Half an hour later they had added all their ingredients to their pots and could only wait.

They pulled the cart carrying the two pots over the streets, until they reached a rather crowded area. They came to a stop and Annie hung out a paper saying 'soup contest, taste for free and tell us which one you like most'.

Soon people lined up, grateful for the free warm soup on such a cold day. At first the votes went up evenly, but as their cauldrons emptied a slight difference became visible.

"What's with the smile? You just lost, you know," Annie said as they closed up their stand.

"I didn't lose by that much."

"34 votes difference out of a total of 240 or so, that just means yours wasn't awful." Annie tried to provoke her.

"Not bad is good enough for me. I expected worse, after all, this was the first time I actually cooked something," Mikasa said.

"You never cooked before?"

"I did help Eren's mom out a few times, but that's not much more than cutting vegetables."

"That doesn't make my win sound like much of a win. But if you want someone to teach you, just ask me."

"How about when we get back to your place? We've been handing out soup for hours without a chance to fill our own bellies."

"It takes a while to make something, and it's already getting dark. I think that I'll just see if there are some leftovers that can easily be warmed left in the freezer."

"Okay, right now, anything warm sounds about fine."

They pulled the cart back to the house, and while Annie looked for something to eat, Mikasa lit up the fireplace in the living room. She warmed her hands over the fire and looked at the door, wondering if Annie had found something, when she noticed something. She walked to a spot on the wall that wasn't so white anymore. A deer was painted next to something that looked like it was going to be a tree. Mikasa crouched down to take a better look at it when the door opened.

"Mikasa?" Annie asked when she didn't find her at the fireplace.

"Yes?"

"Oh, there you are. I have two pizza's, is one enough for you?"

"I think so. Did you paint this?"

"Yeah... I wanted to make it a little livelier in here." Mikasa followed her back to the kitchen where they waited for the pizza to bake. "Will you come over tomorrow too?" Annie asked when they were ready to eat.

"No, I have to do my homework and some other stuff. But there's always next week." Mikasa said.

They took a slice of the pizza and started eating. Annie stared at Mikasa, and started to wonder for the umpteenth time. Just what was this feeling? The first few days they hung out together had been fun. Mikasa had given her a warmth she never had before. Despite her desperate attempts to keep distance she had come to like her. Now it felt like a fire spreading through her whole body, threatening to consume her if she didn't give in to it.

Mikasa shifted her gaze from the pizza to Annie for a few seconds. Their eyes met. Annie averted her eyes and wolfed down the rest of her piece, trying to calm the butterflies in her stomach.

Way too soon the food had disappeared behind their teeth and Mikasa grabbed her jacket. She gave Annie a quick hug and cheerfully said, "I'll see you Monday!" and walked out the door, leaving Annie alone with her troubled thoughts. She cleaned up the kitchen and went to her room.

The few pictures she had of Mikasa hung at her door. She looked at them, remembering all the fun they had together. Her favorite picture was the one she took while they were talking at the dining table. The expression on Mikasa's face was filled with a warmth that made her feel safe each time her eyes landed on it. Annie traced a finger at her jawline, coming to a stop at her chin. The longer she looked at the picture, the more beautiful she seemed to be. Her dark, raven like hair, those warm grey eyes, and her beautiful pink lips. Before she knew what she was doing, Annie leaned in and kissed the picture. As she pulled back she realized she had kissed her lips. She stepped away from the door, her eyes still clinging to the picture.

 _If only I could really do that with her,_ she caught herself thinking. She shook her head and turned away from the door, but it was too late, she couldn't stop imagining it. She sat down on her bed, clutching one of her stuffed animals. Could it be? Was this feeling she felt love? But they were both girls.

Suddenly she remembered seeing Ymir kissing Krista in hallways in school. She hadn't paid it much attention, but now that she thought about it, they did hold hands whenever they could. Perhaps being in love with a girl wasn't so strange after all. But what would Mikasa think of that? Annie had no idea what her thoughts on this kind of thing were. She stayed in her bed, tossing and turning until late at night, her struggling thoughts keeping her up from sleep.

Annie yawned as she made her way to the classroom. She hadn't been able to sleep much at all during the weekend, and she hoped the teachers would be able to lull her to sleep. She sat down at her desk and closed her eyes.

"Good morning, Annie." said a cheerful voice.

Annie opened her eyes and hummed in response as she recognized Mikasa. For a split second their eyes met and butterflies filled Annie's belly. There was no mistaking it now. She really was in love with the beauty in front of her. But now she knew that, what was she going to do with it?

Mikasa opened her bag and took out a small box. "I made this yesterday. I hope you like it." She handed the box to Annie.

"Thanks." Mikasa simply smiled and turned her attention to the front, where the teacher walked in and started his lesson.

Careful not to draw any attention Annie opened the box and peeked inside. Cookies. They had all kind of shapes: squares, stars, circles... hearts? She felt her face getting hot and closed the lid. Did Mikasa put in hearts on purpose, or had she wanted to try out different shapes? Annie looked at Mikasa, who was attentively following the lesson. There was no way she could ever ask her. Annie kept glancing at Mikasa every few seconds, trying to think of what to do. Would she tell Mikasa how she felt, or should she just kiss her and see how that worked out? Her imagination created all kinds of scenarios that made her face turn bright red, and she quickly hid it by pretending to sleep.

The hours slowly crept by, but eventually it was time for lunch break. Annie and Mikasa sat down at a table in the corner so they would be left alone. Mikasa was checking her notebook to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything for a test in the afternoon, and didn't notice that Annie barely touched her lunch.

Deciding that her belly was too full of butterflies to add food, Annie threw her lunch away. But when she remembered the cookies Mikasa gave her, she figured she should at least eat one. She opened the box and picked a cookie, avoiding the heart shaped ones. "They're good." Mikasa looked up in confusion. She had been fully focused on her notes. "The cookies, they're good."

"I'm glad you like them. I was kinda nervous since it's the first time I made them." Mikasa smiled and put her notes away.

 _No_ , Annie thought. _I can't tell her how I feel_. She valued their friendship too much to risk losing it over something like that.

Now they both had finished eating and a silence fell between them, and Annie decided to go for a walk and got up without telling Mikasa where she was going. Perhaps a moment by herself would help her feelings to settle down. She walked until she reached a corridor that was rarely used and opened the door to an empty classroom. Last time she came here the door had been locked, but she had forced the door open. Apparently no one had been here since then, judging from the mangled lock.

The inside of the classroom was just like she left it, the three front desks pushed together in a line. Annie dropped her bag and laid down on the desks. She wouldn't be able to pay attention or sleep in class because Mikasa kept drawing her attention, perhaps sleeping here would work.

"Annie?"

She quickly pushed herself up and opened her eyes to see who had found her. Mikasa stood at the door and slowly walked in, seating herself next to Annie. "What are you doing here?" Annie asked.

"When you suddenly left I followed you. Is there something bothering you?"

"I didn't get much sleep this weekend, and I can't fall asleep in class either, so I decided to try my luck here," Annie mumbled, hoping she wouldn't ask why she couldn't sleep.

"Go ahead and sleep. I'll watch over you." Mikasa gently pulled Annie's shoulder to make her lie down on her lap. Annie looked up at Mikasa, who smiled reassuring and patted her head. "Sleep."

Slightly reluctant Annie closed her eyes, her mind wandering as she inhaled Mikasa's scent.

xxx

Annie followed Mikasa through the corridor, she had never been this nervous before. She bit her lip trying to gather some courage. The sun was setting, bathing the hallway in gold. Faintly the voices of people could be heard, drifting in through the open windows.

"Mikasa," Annie said a little louder than she had planned.

The raven-haired girl stopped and turned around, showing the most beautiful smile Annie had ever seen. "Yes, Annie?"

Annie nervously closed the distance between them and offered Mikasa the pink rose she had been hiding behind her back. Mikasa accepted the rose with a curious hum, her angelic smile never leaving her face.

"I love you." Annie said, her voice no louder than a whisper.

Mikasa slowly wrapped her arms around Annie's shoulders, pulling her closer. She closed her eyes and placed a soft kiss on Annie's lips. When she pulled away they gazed into each other's eyes, happier than ever.

xxx

Annie opened her eyes and found herself lying on Mikasa's lap. It was just a dream.

Mikasa noticed that Annie had woken up and stroked her hair. "Did you sleep well?"

Annie sat up, hiding her blush as she remembered the dream. "Yeah."

"You talk in your sleep."

Annie's eyes widened. Had she said those things not just in her dream, but out loud? "Um... what did I say?" she asked hesitantly.

"... I was lost in thought when you started talking so I didn't really catch it."

"Oh." Annie released a breath in relief.

Mikasa jumped from the desk and said "We missed fifth period, but if we leave now we might still be on time for the next class."

"Right." Annie grabbed her bag and left the room.

Mikasa followed her, her thoughts at the past hour. She had been watching Annie sleep for a while, captivated by how cute and peaceful she looked, when Annie suddenly said her name. She wondered what Annie could possibly be dreaming off, saying her name like that. A few seconds later she muttered, "I love you." She had stared at Annie, not sure what to make of it, until she had opened her eyes. Mikasa shook her head. There was no way she was that lucky. Annie only meant that she loved her as a friend. But as long as they could hang out together and have fun, that was enough. Smiling to herself, Mikasa caught up with Annie and placed a kiss on her cheek. She walked on without noticing a flustered Annie staring at her back.


	4. Chapter 4: New Land

**Chapter 4: New Land**

On Friday night Annie came home troubled. The school planned a field trip to a lake, consisting out of two days. The field trip had been announced months earlier, so the students would have enough time to ask their parents for permission. Originally Annie hadn't planned on going at all, since the place they were staying at only had double rooms. She hadn't felt the need to do anything that required teamwork, which was all the trip was about. However, now she found herself staring at the paper with information about the trip.

They had to fill in their name, the name of their roommate and let their parents sign it. She knew all she had to do was give the principal a call and tell him she wanted to go on the trip, and then pay the small amount noted on the letter. But she was probably already too late to ask Mikasa to be her roommate. If she couldn't share a room with her there was no point in going at all. Annie shook her head, she had to get these kind of thoughts out of her head. Nothing was ever going to happen between them. She sighed as she threw the permission slip in the trash can.

Suddenly she heard a buzzing sound. She looked around her room in confusion, until she found the cause of the noise. Her cellphone.

"Hello?" she asked hesitantly. There were only two people who called her, and even that rarely happened, considering they had other ways to contact her.

 _"Hi, Annie."_ It was Mikasa's voice. _"I was wondering if you wanted to be my roommate for the trip."_

"Uh... really?"

 _"Yes, I mean, why not? You are coming, right?"_

"Uh, yes, off course. I was just about to ask you the same thing, actually."

 _"Well, then I'll fill in your name and all we have to do is hand it in on Monday. I can't believe they announced it all those months ago but waited until a week before the trip to hand out the forms."_

"Yeah... that is kind of stupid," Annie agreed, although she was rather grateful for it.

 _"Are you free tomorrow?"_

"Yeah, why?"

 _"Would it be ok if I come over tomorrow?"_

"Yeah, sure. Ten 'o clock?"

 _"It's a date."_ Without giving Annie so much as a chance to react to those last three words, she hung up.

"It's a date?" Annie repeated, staring at her phone in disbelief. "She really said it's a _date_?" What was going on with Mikasa this week? Giving her a kiss, calling her coming over a date? Was this the kind of playful teasing that was normal with good friends? Or could it maybe…? Was there a chance? Was it possible that Mikasa felt the same way about her? Annie shook her head. She could not allow herself these kind of thoughts. Friendship was enough for her to be happy. Trying to be anything more might ruin everything. She couldn't risk it. "Oh Mikasa, why did you have to be so damn perfect?"

Annie shook her head to clear her mind and started cleaning her room. Mikasa probably wouldn't enter, but she wanted it to be clean just in case. She was about to throw away the garbage when she realized the paper was still in there. She quickly fetched the paper out of the bag, sighing in relief. She had almost thrown away her one chance to sleep in the same room as Mikasa.

She quickly filled out the form and gave the principal a call, then tucked the paper safely into her bag. When she went to bed that night she set her alarm so she wouldn't get up too late. That proved to be a wise choice, since she wasn't able to fall asleep until hours past midnight.

Annie rushed to the door when the bell rang, opening it to see Mikasa holding a red umbrella. Rain gushed down and found its way into the house in the short few seconds the door had been opened. "The rain really messes up my plans. I had hoped to race a bit with you outside," Mikasa said while taking off her jacket and boots.

"Yeah, this isn't really weather you want to use 3DMG in." Annie agreed.

Way sooner than she could have planned, they ended up in Annie's room. Mikasa looked around, taking in the few changes since she last came here. The room was cleaner, stuffed animals lined up in front of the window, and even more pictures.

"Hey, you put pictures of me on the door."

"... There was no more place on the walls," Annie said, hoping this was okay.

Mikasa smiled at her. "That's so sweet." While Annie wondered exactly what was sweet, Mikasa slowly walked to the window, taking in little details she hadn't seen last time she was here. Mikasa walked up the few steps to the elevated floor in front of the window. "How come the floor is higher here?" she asked.

Annie demonstratively sat down next to the window and said "I like to sit here and look outside." Mikasa hummed and sat down next to her, and they looked outside together. "... Why did you ask me to be your roommate? Didn't someone else ask you yet?" Annie asked carefully.

"No, no one asked me." Mikasa placed her head on Annie's shoulder. "Besides, if I have to share I room, I wouldn't want someone other than you."

Annie's heart skipped a beat and she muttered, "Same here." Eventually the rain quieted down and stopped. "So... do you still want to race?" Annie asked quietly.

"Sure." Mikasa got up and sprinted for the door. "You're losing!"

Surprised by her fast action, Annie stumbled to get up and hurried after her friend. Mikasa was already in the basement putting on her gear when Annie arrived. Thanks to years of practice Annie equipped her gear faster than Mikasa could and shouted, "Last one at the lake has to obey the other's orders at the trip!"

"No fair! We didn't agree on that!" Mikasa shouted in vain, seeing as Annie was already out of ear shot. She cursed under her breath and headed outside as fast as her legs would go. How was she supposed to find a lake she had only been once before? She really didn't want to be Annie's maid for a whole weekend. Who knows what she'd make her do. She swiftly maneuvered through the trees and soon caught sight of Annie. She followed her, glad she still had a chance on winning.

The lake came within sight and Mikasa sped up. Just before Annie reached her favorite spot, Mikasa flew in from above her, successfully winning the race.

"No way!" Annie yelled, not having noticed how close Mikasa was until it was too late. To avoid bumping into Mikasa she had altered her course at the last second, and as a result she was now hanging by her two cables in mid-air.

Mikasa laughed as she saw Annie. "Too bad I didn't bring your camera with me." She joked.

"Shut up!" Annie growled. "This is so not fair!"

"Not fair?" Mikasa asked as she stopped laughing. "How so is betting on first reaching a place I don't even know how to get to fair?"

Annie joined Mikasa on the branch. "You got here, didn't you?"

"Only because I was still on time to be able to follow you. Besides, you made this bet without even asking me, so you better keep it."

"Eh..." was all Annie could manage.

Something flashed in the dark eyes, and Mikasa leaned in, lifting Annie's chin with her finger. "Next weekend, you will obey my every word," she spoke slowly, making sure Annie knew exactly how stupid it had been of her to make that bet.

Annie flushed bright red, unable to look away from Mikasa's eyes. She swallowed hard, this was going to be one hell of a trip.

On Friday evening Annie hurried home after school. The ones going on the trip had to return to school at seven with their bags. They would arrive at the lake at nine and had an hour to settle in in their respective rooms. After that a game was planned. Details would be given later on.

 _Well_ , Annie thought as she started searching her freezer for something that could be cooked quickly, _at least Mikasa won't have a chance to make me do anything crazy this evening._ With a sigh she closed the freezer and chose to have a bowl of cereal instead. When she finished she quickly packed the last few things and checked her bag.

"All right. Here we go," Annie said and left the villa, heading off to sleep somewhere else for the first time in her life.

When she arrived at school most of the others were already waiting for the bus to open its doors. Annie cursed her small size as she tried to find Mikasa among the crowd. Her attention was drawn by someone creating a scene over the trip. Eren. After she found him it was easy to spot Mikasa, along with several other of their classmates.

Slightly reluctant she walked towards them, hoping the others wouldn't bother her. She came to a stop next to the raven-haired girl, glad no one had noticed her yet. "Hi." she mumbled.

"Oh, hi Annie." Mikasa said, a bit too loud to the blonde's liking. Everyone turned to look and greet her.

"It's nice to see you're going on the trip too. Mikasa has told us much about you," Armin said. Alarmed, Annie glanced at Mikasa, careful to keep her face straight.

"Yeah, she said you're very good at cooking," Sasha said in a hopeful voice.

"I'm just glad you two found a less aggressive way to compete," Krista added. Overwhelmed by the sudden amount attention, Annie decided it was best to give them all a death glare, surely now they'd leave her in peace.

"Ok, everyone line up and be quiet!" Shadis yelled. "Once you hear your name you put your bag in the trunk and get on the bus. If I hear any arguing about the seats I will choose them for you. Understood?"

"Yes sir!" the teens replied as one. Annie sighed as Mikasa was the first to get on the bus. By the time Shadis called her name, someone else would probably be sitting next to Mikasa.

However, when Annie entered the bus, she spotted Mikasa seated next to the passage, making it clear for everyone she was keeping the window seat for someone without causing arguments. When Annie came to a halt next to her she scooted over to the window.

"Are you ready for the weekend?" Mikasa smirked.

"... I think so." Mikasa looked outside the window and toyed with her scarf. Soon everyone was on the bus and they drove off. Annie nervously eyed Mikasa. What kind of things would she make her do? Mikasa was a nice girl. She wouldn't ask her to do anything unreasonable, right? When she said the loser of their race had to obey the winner, she said so without thinking. The only thing she could ever think of making Mikasa do, was asking her to kiss her, not that she'd dare to ask. But what if Mikasa wasn't as innocent as she seemed? Annie's imagination started going wild, causing her face to turn to a color rivaling Mikasa's scarf. She fidgeted, trying to get the crazy scenarios out of her head, but all she managed to do was drawing Mikasa's attention.

"Something wrong?"

"... I'm just nervous. This is my first trip."

"You have never gone on a trip before? Not even with your dad?"

"No. All he ever did was teaching me how to fight," she said quietly.

Mikasa placed her hand on the blonde's arm and quietly said, "Don't worry, I'll make sure your first trip is a good one." Annie closed her eyes and rested her head against Mikasa' shoulder, inhaling her sweet scent with every breath she took.

"Annie. Annie?" a soft voice whispered in her ear.

Annie opened her eyes and looked at Mikasa questioningly.

"We're here."

Annie straightened herself and looked around. She didn't realize she fell asleep. And judging by the looks on the other's faces, she was alone in her case. As embarrassing as it was for everyone to have seen her like that, she couldn't have stopped herself even if she wanted to, Mikasa simply was too much of a comforting presence to her.

Everyone got off the bus as fast as they could, hoping to be the first to retrieve their bags. When the resulting chaos had subsided, Shadis ordered them to split up, boys and girls apart. Both groups took the same way until they reached a big building.

"This is the dining hall. You have from eight 'til nine in the morning for breakfast, so don't forget it!" Shadis explained. "The girls' rooms are on the right, the boys' on the left. We expect you to be back here in an hour. The boys can get their keys with me and Mr. Ackerman, the girls theirs with Miss Zoe and Miss Ral. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!" the students replied.

The groups went their separate ways, following the teachers.

Unlike Annie had expected, they wouldn't stay in dorms, but in small cabins, scattered along the road. They stopped in front of the first, and Hanji gave a key to Petra.

"We will be staying in the first cabin. Who wants number two?" She held out a second key.

"We do!" Sasha shouted, pulling Mina with her as she went to get the key. No doubt her enthusiasm was due to it being the closest room to the dining hall. One by one the keys disappeared, until one remained. Hanji looked at the pair standing in front of her, slightly worried if it was a good idea to pair them up.

"Here's your key ladies. Just remember one thing. It doesn't matter that your cabin is the furthest. If I catch even just the scent of a fight, one of you will get to spend the night with me."

"We won't fight, we're friends." Annie said, surprising the teachers. She grabbed the key and ran off. "Last there is last to bathe!"

"Not again!" Mikasa groaned as she gave chase.

"Perfect, I wouldn't want to get separated from Petra either." Hanji said and swung her arm around the blonde's shoulders.

"H-Hanji!"

Panting Annie and Mikasa stood in front of the door. "It's a tie," Annie said as she unlocked the door.

"Why do you have to make bets like that?" Mikasa breathed.

"Just for fun. A race is kinda boring if there's nothing at stake." Annie flicked on the light and took in the interior of the room. A window faced the door in the middle of the opposite wall, a small table in front of it, beds left and right. The floor, walls and ceiling were made of the same light colored wood, the curtains and bed sheets a light green. Two closets leaned against the left wall, a door on the right.

Mikasa walked past Annie and put her bag down on the left bed. Without saying a word, she started to unpack, Annie closed the door and followed her example. When they had settled in in their room, they still had another twenty minutes left of the given hour. They awkwardly sat on their beds, facing each other. "So..." Mikasa broke the silence. "What do you think of the room?"

"A bit plain, but nice. But I guess that's normal for a place like this."

"Plain? Funny you should say that. Most of your house is plain."

"It has always been like that. Except for my dad's room. I wasn't allowed to enter it but I know there must have been a bed and a desk. He spent a lot of time in there. After he left the room was empty." Annie said, eyes cast downward. Mikasa went to sit next to Annie and wrapped a comforting arm around her.

"Sorry," Annie muttered.

"It's ok. I know what it feels like to lose your parents. You can cry if you want to."

A single tear rolled down Annie's cheek, and soon sobs followed. With a shaky voice she said, "Even when he was still there, I always felt alone. The only friend I had when I was little left me too. You'll stay with me, right?"

"Of course I will. You are more important to me than I could ever put into words. I could never leave you, no matter what may happen."

Annie smiled weakly, and softly whispered, "Thank you."

Mikasa moved her hand to wipe tears off of Annie's cheeks, and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I'll always be here," she said quietly, kissing her forehead again. "Always." Annie nuzzled her shoulder, and they stayed like that until Mikasa's alarm went off, signaling that their time together had ended.

Most of the students had already gathered when they arrived at the square in front of the dining hall. "Ok kids!" Shadis yelled, immediately drowning out all the chatter. "There are signs spread across the terrain. You are to find them and write down the answers. Miss Zoe will hand out flashlights, pens and papers, groups of maximum five people. We expect you back by midnight. If you get lost, our phone numbers are on the paper. Those who try a prank call will spend the rest of their year in detention. Dismissed."

Eren and Armin found the girls and offered to group up, to which Annie protested with a silent scowl. She knew it would be wrong to refuse them, but she simply preferred to spend the rest of her night solely by the side of a specific dark-haired beauty.

They retrieved the items from Hanji, and studied the paper. Besides the phone numbers there were several letters lined up along the left side of the paper. It counted from A to T, indicating the amount of questions they had to solve. "So, where should we start?" Eren asked, his eyes trained on Armin.

"Well, without any kind of guidelines, I think it would be a good idea to simply follow the path around the lake."

"The lake it is!" Eren cheerfully took the lead.

"Eren, wait!" Mikasa shouted, he didn't have a flashlight. Annie sighed. Everyone knew that when Mikasa was around Eren, she was not likely to pay much attention to anyone else. At least she was able to convince Eren to take a flashlight and stick close to the rest of the group. Mikasa let the boys take the lead, and fell in step next to Annie. She flashed her a smile and gave her hand a quick squeeze, as if she was trying to say she wouldn't forget about her, even with Eren around.

After five minutes they found their first sign. It carried the letter F, the question being, "How many times can a stone be skipped across the water?" Both Eren and Mikasa looked at Armin.

"Errr, this isn't exactly an easy question," the blond boy muttered, not having expected to become the center of attention so suddenly. "I guess we can assume they mean the water in this lake, but 'a stone' is simply not precise enough. The shape, weight and size of the stone make a difference. Also the technique and-"

"Yeah, yeah, we get it. Let's just try it, alright!" Eren said and started picking up stones and skipping them across the water. "That's four times! That's two... three... five!"

Annie sighed and turned her attention to the blond boy. "Can I have the paper?"

"Oh, sure." he smiled and handed her the pen and paper.

Annie wrote a '1' on the paper and gave the others a light nod. "We can go to the next one."

"Eren skipped them more than once, though." Mikasa frowned.

"It's a trick question. Once you've skipped a stone you can't skip it a second time because it's at the bottom of the lake." Annie said simply.

"Oh, I see. Yes, that does make sense." Armin nodded, "Good thing you're in our group Annie. You're clever."

Annie muttered a quiet "thanks", while Mikasa told her brother they were ready to leave.

Eren had gathered a handful of stones, and threw them all at once into the lake, causing the water to splash up and soak the lower half of his trousers. "What? Well fuck you too, stupid lake!"

"Be careful Eren, you don't want to anger the guardian god of the lake," Annie said.

"There's a guardian god?" Annie's tone had been so serious he took it for the truth for a moment. A moment long enough to have the rest of his group burst out in laughter. He slammed his hand to his forehead and groaned as they started walking again.

After fifteen more minutes of walking they found their second sign. This one was marked by an H, the question reading: "How many people can climb this tree?"

"What? Another stupid question?" Despite having said that, Eren started climbing the tree in front of the sign.

"Well, he's right about one thing. These are stupid questions. They try to sound complicated, but really they're simple." Annie said.

"Guys! I'm stuck!" Eren yelled. The closest branch right above and below him were out of his reach. Mikasa went to help him, which was hard since there was no more place in the tree.

"How about 'One at a time'?" Armin quipped, his attention still on the question.

Annie chuckled. "Don't forget to add that Eren doesn't know how to climb."

An hour and a half and seven questions later they returned to the dining hall.

"It seems you've all come back alive." Shadis said, glancing over the students "You may all write your names down and hand the papers to me. After that you can go to your dorms. And you had better be quiet!"

The students quickly did as they were told and retreated to their cabins in pairs. When the girls came back to their cabin they quickly washed the dirt off of their bodies and put on their pajamas. Being tired from the long day, they went to bed without much talk.

Annie tossed and turned in her bed, but no matter how tired she was, she couldn't fall asleep. Something wasn't right. She pushed herself up on her hands, trying to figure out exactly what it was that kept her from sleeping this time.

She could barely keep her eyes open to look to her right, where Mikasa's features were vaguely visible in the moonlight filtering through the curtains. Was it because of her? But she fell asleep so much easier the couple of times she was with her. Then again, she had been using Mikasa as a pillow back then. As silently as she could, Annie slipped out of her bed, and tiptoed over to Mikasa's, grateful the wooden floor didn't squeak.

Mikasa's breathing was shallow and even. As carefully as she could, Annie sat down and slowly laid herself on the bed, facing the raven-haired girl. Although there was still a sheet separating them, Annie quickly drifted off into the land of dreams.

The next morning, Mikasa woke up to a surprise. At first she didn't notice anything strange. There was a nice warmth at her front, and Annie's scent tingled her nose. She inhaled deeply once, and then it got to her. Why could she smell Annie? Her eyes jerked open, only to see the blonde's sleeping face a mere few inches from hers.

"Annie," she whispered. Annie's blonde hair was messily spread out over the pillow, a content sigh escaped her slightly parted lips, but she was still asleep. Mikasa gazed fondly at her face and wrapped an arm around her friend. "So beautiful." After staring at Annie's features for a while, Mikasa found herself closing the small distance between them, slowly lowering her eyelids. Her heart hammered in her chest as she allowed her lips to capture Annie's. Her lips were warm and soft, unmoving against her own. After a few seconds Mikasa pulled back a little and opened her eyes again, only to discover that Annie was no longer asleep.


	5. Chapter 5: New Love

**Chapter 5: New Love**

Annie was slowly drifting away from her slumber, back to reality. There was a warm feeling across her body, whispered words she was still too sleepy to understand. Something warm and soft gently covered her lips, causing sleep to release its final grip on her. She opened her eyes and saw a strand of black hair falling across a pair of closed eyes. For a split second she thought she was still dreaming, there was no way this was happening. But it all felt too real to be a dream.

Mikasa pulled back a little and looked at her. Her content expression quickly changed to a shocked one as she looked straight into Annie's open eyes. The silence grew uncomfortably between the two as they tried to read each other, until finally Annie spoke. "Mikasa?" she asked quietly.

Mikasa cast her eyes down and muttered, "Sorry."

Annie was at a loss for words. Mikasa had kissed her, something she had been dreaming of for ages. And now she apologized? Did she not mean it? Had she done it out of mere curiosity? Or was she embarrassed because she had been caught? Could it be that she was just as afraid her feelings were one-sided as Annie was? She hoped for the latter and took a deep breath. "Why did you kiss me?" she asked, her voice no louder than a whisper.

"It doesn't matter. I'm sorry." Mikasa kept looking down, refusing to look Annie in the eye.

"It does matter." When after a minute all she got was even more silence, Annie decided to take the matters in her own hands. It was going to have to happen sooner or later anyway. "I love you."

"Huh?" Mikasa's eyes met hers again.

"I love you, so please don't say it doesn't matter." Annie could feel her eyes getting wet.

Relief flooded Mikasa's dark eyes and she said, "Oh, Annie. I love you too." She leaned in and placed another kiss on Annie's lips, and this time the blond responded with a kiss of her own. The kiss was gentle and full of love, and as soon as one ended another began. When they finally pulled back they gazed into each other's eyes, happy, just to be together. They murmured soft, loving words to each other, and filled the silence with tender kisses.

The not so gentle buzzing of Mikasa's phone reminded them that there was still a world outside of the two of them. It was eight o'clock, time for them to get ready and have breakfast. Annie groaned as Mikasa sat up. "Don't go."

Mikasa smiled and ran a hand through the blonde locks. "I'd love to stay and cuddle some more, but I need to eat breakfast."

"In weekends it should be brunch, not breakfast," Annie complained, pushing herself up so she could hold Mikasa again.

"Just get up, we'll have plenty of weekends to spend together after this." She gave Annie a kiss on her head and walked to the closet. Truth be said, she found it hard to leave the bed as well. She picked out some clothes, but hesitated to start changing. A pouting Annie was blankly staring in her direction. "Are you just gonna sit there and watch me change?" she asked, face coloring at the mere thought.

"What? Oh, eh, um, no." Annie quickly got up, snapping out of her sleepy daze, looking anywhere but Mikasa. The raven-haired girl chuckled, relieved, and they changed, their backs towards each other. When they were both ready they headed for the door, but when Annie placed her hand on the knob, she paused. "We aren't going to tell anyone, are we? About us?"

"Of course not!"

Annie released a breath. "Good. You're mine." She leaned up to quickly peck her girlfriend on the lips, then opened the door. Together they walked out into the morning sun, hoping their day would be as good as the weather. Annie sat next to Mikasa at the dining table, feeling awkward since this was the first time she joined her friends at their table. And boy, they sure were noisy so early on a Saturday morning.

Trying to listen to their conversations while slapping Sasha's hand away when it came too close to her food was quite the experience. She sighed as she brought her coffee to her mouth, and felt Mikasa taking her other hand below the surface of the table. She squeezed lightly before letting go, shooting a quick glance around the table.

Half an hour after they finished breakfast they all gathered at the lake again. Shadis glared at the teens until they quieted down before speaking. "Today will be a bit more adventurous. In groups of six you will build a raft to carry you across the lake. Once you get there, pull your raft up shore. We don't want them floating around without sailors. There will be several boxes waiting for you. Chose one, it will contain your lunch and information about your next task. Miss Zoe and Miss Ral will be there as well, in case you have any questions. Mr. Ackerman and I will stay here to help out building rafts, as well as Mr. Jeremy." He gestured to a short man with brown hair, who nodded to the group. "He is an expert on building rafts, but you should try to figure it out without his help. But for your own safety, let him check your work before you float away. Now, get to work."

"Yay, a group of six." Annie muttered sarcastically.

"Oh, come on, it'll be fun." Mikasa said and dragged her along.

They were joined by Eren, Armin, Sasha and Connie. The materials lay to the side, logs, empty barrels and rope.

Armin muttered under his breath, trying to figure out which construction would be best. After he made his conclusions, he told the others to tie some logs together, enough so they could all sit on it, then add barrels below each end so it could carry them.

Jeremy passed their raft as "That should work out nicely." And handed them some oars.

"This isn't enough for all of us, who's going to row?" Eren asked.

The oars were snatched out of his hands and Sasha jumped on the raft. "Lunch, here I come!"

"Sasha! Wait!" The others shouted, quickly following after her, and they sped off as fast as the raft would let them. The lake was large. Very large. Especially to a hungry Sasha. She had used up most of her energy by the time they were halfway. She handed her oar to Armin and slumped against him.

"What time is it?" she asked.

Armin checked his watch. "Eleven." She groaned and closed her eyes.

"I figured this would happen," Connie said. "I took a chocolate bar with me." Before he even reached his pocket, Sasha was unwrapping the paper.

"Thank you, Connie!" she exclaimed and pecked him on his cheek. He touched the place where she kissed him and blushed lightly as he watched her eat.

"Sure, let us row while you two get all lovey-dovey," Eren commented.

"Hey!" Connie turned around to scowl at him. "Just because you're too chicken to ask Mikasa out doesn't give you the right to be a dick!"

"What?!" Eren shouted, his back towards his adoptive sister.

"Don't be ridiculous, we're family." Mikasa said.

"Not by blood." Connie retorted.

"But he is by heart. My sweet troublemaker of a brother." She patted him on the head.

"Mikasa!" he waved her hand away. The others laughed and shared stories about their adventures of last night.

Gathering courage in the fact that no one was looking Annie leaned to Mikasa and whispered, "Don't worry about him, you can pat my head all you want when we get back to our cabin."

"Oh, I'm sure I'll do more than just that." Mikasa wiggled her eyebrows.

Immediately Annie's mind started working in all the directions it wasn't supposed to go, causing her to flush bright red and she shifted her gaze to the water. "Thanks for getting my imagination to go crazy," she mumbled, leaving Mikasa to guess at the thoughts that were now running through Annie's mind.

At long last they reached land, and Sasha ran dramatically to the boxes. "Finally!" she shouted. "Never did I imagine that I would lay my hands on something so precious again! Oh, food. How I've yearned for you during my many years at sea!" Annie shot her a glance while she helped the rest of the group drag the raft onto the grass.

"Well, at least we know she's picking something up at the drama club," Mikasa commented.

Hanji approached Sasha as she opened the box. "No more than one box for your whole group. I'm watching you."

After filling their bellies they opened a package that was also contained within the box.

There was a letter, a pencil, a compass and a map of the property.

"Our souvenir shop has reported several missing items. Figurines of a bear and a wolf, a decorated wooden box and a rainbow flag. If you go east from here you will find some rocks with faces painted on them. There you will find a clue to which direction you need to go next. After that you will need to cross a bridge and continue north. Once the path comes to an end your treasure should be in sight." Armin opened the map and placed the compass next to it. "There are a few rocks shown on the map in that direction. Let's go."

After a twenty-minute walk through the forest they found the rocks, and started searching the ground for clues. "I'm not finding anything guys." Eren sighed after a few minutes.

"Yeah, me neither." Armin said.

Sasha leaped onto the rocks. "Maybe we just need to change our point of view."

"Good idea!" Connie said and joined her.

The others looked up at them expectantly. The brunette looked down and smiled.

"One hand isn't much for all the faces on this rock, but it's enough for us. That way!" She pointed forwards and jumped off.

Connie looked down and saw a pointing hand painted on the surface of the rock. "Yeah, let's go!" he said and jumped after her.

A long walk later they came across a river, it wasn't very wide, but still big enough to need a bridge to cross it. Due to the lack of clear marks on the map they had to search for a while before they found it.

"North until the path comes to an end…" Armin said, remembering the instructions. "They say that but there isn't really a path in that direction."

"They probably scattered some leaves to make our search harder. You know, since we are the most awesome group there is," Eren said. He walked of, the others shrugged and followed.

Five minutes later they came to a stop, they stood at the edge of a small cliff, the forest floor beginning anew at least two meters below them, the sound of a waterfall in the distance.

"So I suppose this is the end of our path, but where is our treasure?" Armin said while checking the map one last time.

"There!" Connie said, pointing to a spot in a tree a few meters away from them.

"Leave it to me." Sasha leaped off the rock, grabbing on to the tree and climbing up. The flag was wrapped around a branch, its bright colors stained in green and brown. It was clear it had spent a lot of time in the forest. She found the box stuck between two branches, just below the rainbow flag, with the figurines neatly placed inside it.

Sasha placed the box in the middle of the flag and wrapped the fabric securely around it so she would only need one hand to hold it. Then she carefully climbed further over a branch, getting closer to the rock where the others stood. She jumped and landed messily amidst them. After unwrapping her treasure she turned to Annie. "So, Annie. do you want to carry the box or the flag?"

"…The box is fine." Annie accepted the small box, and wondered why Sasha had picked her out of everyone.

"Alright!" Sasha exclaimed, swinging the flag over her shoulder, "let's go back and enjoy the rest of the day by doing nothing!"

When they arrived back at their starting point they weren't the first. Reiner saw Sasha carrying the rainbow flag, holding it behind her back with her arms spread. "Hey Braus, I didn't know you were gay!" he called.

"Oh, didn't you know? I've had a crush on Mikasa ever since she kicked your butt that day in our first year." She joked and put an arm around Mikasa's shoulder.

Reiner made a face and waved his middle finger at her. While the others all laughed at him, Annie's eyes bored into Sasha's back. She was taking way too long to release Mikasa, and she balled her fist at her side.

Annie's death stare went unnoticed by the laughing teens, and after they handed their items to Jeremy, Shadis said they were free the rest of the day. Sasha and Connie stayed outside to hang out with Reiner and Berthold. The others went back to their cabin.

Annie flopped down on the bed, tired from walking all day. Mikasa sat on the edge of her own bed and eyed her girlfriend silently, until a smile spread across her face. "Annie," she said in a playful voice.

The blonde lifted her head, warily at Mikasa's tone. "What?"

"Remember that bet you made?" she continued.

"Uh, yes," Annie said, sitting up. She was definitely getting worried now.

Mikasa beckoned her with her finger, and the blonde hesitantly made her way to the other bed. She was just about to sit down as Mikasa shook her head and patted her lap, that playful smile still on her lips. Annie's heartbeat sped up as she sat down on her indicated spot and looked into her girlfriend's dark eyes. "Kiss me," Mikasa said while wrapping her arms around Annie's waist.

The blonde placed a slow kiss on her lips, and all her thoughts melted away when their tongues met. She didn't even notice when the taller girl started to lower her to the bed. Mikasa pulled back, just enough to separate their lips. Annie looked up at her with foggy eyes. "Now, tell me, how exactly did you fall for me?" Mikasa whispered.

Annie had to blink a few times before answering. "How? You're just so damn perfect, that's how."

Mikasa chuckled and gave her a kiss. "Define perfect."

"Um… you are the most beautiful girl in the world." Mikasa smiled and shook her head. "It's true! You _are_ the most beautiful girl in the world. The way your eyes light up when you smile… and your nose, your nose is so freaking adorable I can barely believe it's real." As if to emphasize her point, Annie traced a finger over the bridge of Mikasa's nose. "And then there's your beautiful lips…" Instead of finishing her sentence, Annie leaned up to kiss her.

"Hmm. Is that really all there is to me?" Mikasa murmured.

"Shush, I'm busy." Annie said and started kissing her again, only to have air blown against her lips when Mikasa burst out in laughter.

"Seriously though, what is it that you like about me?"

"I just told you, you're a freaking angel, how could I not like you?" Mikasa raised her eyebrows, not quite satisfied with the answer. "You're amazing. You're strong, you're kind, … you've shown me just how much fun it can be to actually have someone around. You're always there for me, no matter how much of an asshole I am. You're bringing out the best in me and I don't ever want that to stop. I just feel so… alive since I got to know you. I feel safe when I'm with you. I just love the way you keep on being you, and I wouldn't change it for anything in the world. I just love _you_."

"I love you, Annie." They kissed again, longer this time. As they broke apart they rolled onto their sides.

"And what about you, what made you fall for me?" Annie asked.

Mikasa smiled shyly before answering. "Actually, I always found you attractive. Sure, we butt heads a lot, but something about you just caught my interest. And when I was over at your place the first time, I recognized so much of myself in you. Caring for you just came naturally. Every day with you was so much fun, and next thing I knew you were always on my mind. I just feel like I belong with you. And I'm so, _so_ happy you feel the same. I love you so much."

"I love you too, Mikasa."

It was Sunday morning, and they spent it eating together with all of Mikasa's friends. Annie tried her best to keep both her hands above the table, not wanting to get caught holding Mikasa's hand. Her efforts were rewarded by Sasha swinging an arm around Mikasa, stealing a bite from her sandwich. Annie scowled, trying her best to look anywhere but at them. "Jeez, Annie, I had no idea you hated mornings _this_ much," said Jean, the unfortunate recipient of her glare.

"Come on, cheer up Annie! Mornings are one of the best parts of a day. Breakfast just lies there, waiting to be devoured!" Sasha offered her a sandwich.

"I already have one." Annie stated. Sasha shrugged and stuffed it in her own mouth. Mikasa gave Annie a small smile and nudged her lightly with her elbow. Annie sighed and tried to relax her expression. Showing any emotions would only draw attention.

When everyone gathered again, the teachers lead them to an obstacle course. Shadis once again gave the explanation. "You will form pairs, then go through this course while being tied to each other. You may not pair up with your roommate."

Those last words rang in Annie's ears as if they had exploded next to her. She couldn't pair up with Mikasa. She was all by herself in a cruel, unforgiving world. Now what was she supposed to do?

Mikasa gave her a sad, longing look, then Sasha swooped in between them. "Mikasa! Let's go together!"

"Uh, sure," She said, taking one last look at her girlfriend before leaving.

Annie stood there, alone, unsure, while the rest of the world found new partners as if nothing ever happened. Connie went with Krista, after a warning from Ymir, who then tagged along with Reiner. Even Eren paired up with Jean, their daily arguments seemingly forgotten.

"Hey." Armin pulled her out of her thoughts. "What do you say if we pair up? I'm not really sportive like you, but that isn't all that important, right?"

"Whatever. Let's just get this over with." They walked up to the start of the course, where they received a rope. They tied it around their waists, leaving about a meter and a half between them. The parkour was quite long and mainly consisted of climbing over things, balancing over a log and crossing muddy water in various ways. At one point they had to swing over on a rope and _god damnit Armin, why can't you just jump!_

When they finally reached the finish line it was well past noon, and there weren't many people left in the muddy dining hall. Naturally, Mikasa wasn't there either.

She found her on her way back to their cabin, sitting in the grass next to Sasha. Both girls looked at her with wide eyes. "Wow, Annie, _you_ fell? You actually _fell_ in the water? Oh, how I wish I saw that," Mikasa said when she saw her. Sasha simply laughed at the muddy girl before her.

"I did _not_ fall. Armin did. We were swinging over the water on the rope, and when I jumped he decided he was too chicken for it."

"You teamed up with Armin? You should've asked Ymir, she's good at this sort of thing," Sasha commented.

"Whatever, I'm claiming the bathroom," She told Mikasa and continued her way. About an hour and a clean pair of clothes later she found Mikasa where she left her. She was lying next to Sasha, who vaguely gestured to the sky. They were both laughing when Annie appeared in their view.

"We're leaving at four. So we should probably pack our things," Mikasa said.

"Great, home before dinner!" Sasha got up and left for her cabin.

Mikasa held her arm up. "Pull me up." Annie helped her up, tugging a bit harder than necessary, causing Mikasa to bump into her. She wrapped her arms around her, glad no one was there to see. Surprised, Mikasa patted Annie's head. "We can cuddle all you want once we have our bags packed. You know, inside, with no risk of anyone walking by."

"There's no one around," Annie protested quietly before letting go. They packed as fast as they could, then ended up in one of the beds, staring into each other's eyes.

After a few minutes of silence Mikasa spoke up. "So, how are we going to handle this from now on?"

"Handle what?" Annie said confused, being pulled out of her thoughts.

"Us."

"Aren't we just gonna stay together? What more could there be to it?"

"I mean with school and stuff. Finals are coming up, so I'll have to spend a lot of time studying. I guess we can study together, but I don't want my parents getting suspicious of us."

"Finals… I guess I'll have to study as well," Annie commented bored.

"As well? Don't you worry, I'll make sure you do."

"What? Are you gonna force me?"

"If I have to, yes. There's no way I'll let my girlfriend get away with bad grades."

"Fine. I'll come over to your place."

Mikasa made a thoughtful face. "But what about my parents?"

"Wouldn't we just look like two studying kids to them?"

"Annie, do you have any idea how obvious you are? I haven't come out to them yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if they had their suspicions. They are not stupid."

"Oh…"

"Eren and Armin know that I'm gay, but we don't really talk about it much…"

"Yeah… I wouldn't ask them for advice on that matter. No offence."

"Maybe we could ask Krista and Ymir for advice."

"No! Not Ymir! Once she knows about us, the whole school will know."

"Ok… just Krista then. Don't worry, I'll do the asking, you don't have to be there. I'll ask her tomorrow."

They spent the ride back to school in the back of the bus, chatting with their friends.

Everyone's parents were waiting to pick them up, Annie watched as the Yeagers helped Eren and Mikasa with their luggage.

She sighed and turned around, dragging her suitcase behind her as she walked. She was near the end of the school property when she heard someone call her name.

Mikasa ran up to her and gave her a hug. "You didn't seriously think of leaving without saying bye, did you?"

"There were too many people around to say goodbye properly." Annie responded shyly.

Mikasa smiled. "Goodbye. I love you." She pecked her lips. "Sweet dreams."

"I love you too, 'night." Annie continued her way home with a smile. It was still a bit too soon for bed. And she knew exactly what she was going to do with her spare time.


	6. Chapter 6: The Bonds We Forge

**Chapter 6: The Bonds We Forge**

Mikasa was a bit earlier than usual at school, but she knew Krista would be there already, while Ymir would not. This was the perfect time to ask her. But where would she be? Class didn't start until an hour or so. After searching for a while she saw the blonde sitting on a bench. A knot formed in her stomach as she joined her. Perhaps it would've been better to have Annie by her side after all, just for moral support. "Hey." she said, feeling a bit weird.

"Good morning. You're early."

"Yeah, I wanted to ask you something."

Krista made a worried face. She had never seen Mikasa nervous before. "What is it?"

"How… how did you hide from your parents that you and Ymir were together?" She stared at Krista's shoes while she asked.

"Well, my parents never really liked Ymir, so whenever she came over we were just in my room. We would turn on some music so they couldn't overhear anything. But the first time I got them to let her stay over, she got a bit flirty while we were having dinner. I explained to my parents she just likes to tease like that, but they have been keeping a close eye on us ever since, coming into my room without knocking, until they found us kissing one time." Krista grew silent for a moment, reliving the memory. "Well, anyway, it took them a while before they accepted us. But I got Ymir to show her good side and now they're okay with it."

Mikasa nodded, she wasn't sure if this was helpful. She usually studied at the kitchen table, since Eren almost always had his music blazing in the room next to hers.

"And what about Ymir's parents?"

"Well… the first time I visited her after we became a couple she just said 'mom, dad, I got my girl.' It was so embarrassing. She told them she liked me before so she didn't think it was a big deal." Krista's face was a bright shade of pink. "Idiot," she murmured.

Mikasa thought of her parents. They probably would accept them, maybe ask a few questions, and let them be. But she didn't feel ready to come out to them just yet. She only told Eren and Armin when she tried to heal her broken heart with alcohol a few years earlier. And as far as she knew, Annie planned to stay in the closet too, for now at least.

"Why do you want to know?" Krista asked.

"Um… just curious."

Krista raised an eyebrow. "You come extra early to school and ask me that because you are curious? Come on Mikasa, I know you better than that." Mikasa buried her face in her scarf and stared at her feet. Why on earth did she have to ask? "You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to. But since you came to me for advice, why don't you try telling me a bit about it. That way I might be able to help you better."

She took a deep breath before speaking, Krista had to lean closer to hear her muffled words.

"I like someone, but I don't want my parents to notice when I… invite her over. I… I'm not ready to come out to them yet."

Krista patted her on her back. "That's okay. I'm proud that you were able to tell me. I know it isn't easy." Mikasa smiled. It was a good idea to talk to Krista. "Now as for hiding how you feel, you are pretty good at masking your emotions so I don't think that is much of a problem."

"It is around her."

"But then who…? Ahem, try looking at how you act around others, then act the same with her when your parents are around. Don't stare too much. And if she says or does something you really like, look away for a bit, instead of looking at her. Things like that."

Mikasa nodded, feeling better. "Just don't tell anyone we had this conversation."

"Don't worry. I'll give you all the time you need to come out. And if you ever need my help again, don't hesitate. I'm here for you. And good luck with that girl." She winked.

A few seconds later Mikasa felt a hand on her shoulder. The muscles in her neck hurt with the speed she turned to look, worried someone had overheard them.

"And just what do you think you're doing?" Ymir growled at her.

"What?" Mikasa said confused.

"Don't act so innocent. Flirting with my girl, getting her to wink at you."

"Oh. We were just talking. Why would I even want to flirt with Krista?"

"Because you're gay, duh." said the brunette as she wriggled herself in between them.

Mikasa's heartbeat sped up, just how did Ymir know? "What makes you think that?" she said, voice giving away nothing of her inner turmoil.

"C'mon, I can smell gay from a mile away. You like chicks, us too, obviously." Krista squealed as Ymir squeezed her leg. "Reiner and Berthold are _so_ dating, Annie's gay too. Jean is still a sucker for you, Armin is still too chicken to make a move on Hannah. I don't get how Sasha and Connie still aren't together, I mean, how obvious can it be? Eren is giving of some gay vibes whenever Jean's around, though that's not enough to say for sure. Now, do you want me to go over the teachers as well?" she smiled.

"We have gay teachers?" Krista asked as she moved to sit on Ymir's lap.

"Seriously? Did you not notice how flirty Zoe and Ral were this weekend?" she chuckled. "And the midget totally has the hots for…" she whispered the name in Krista's ear, who's eyes widened in surprise.

"No way!"

"Yes way." She laughed.

"What's so funny?" Eren asked as he and Armin arrived.

"Don't ask," Mikasa said, trying to ignore the laughing couple behind her.

Now knowing Ymir knew they both were gay, and Krista probably trying to figure out who she liked, she tried not to look at Annie too much. She made sure to send the girl a text so she knew what happened that morning. During lunch they still sat next to each other, not talking much. Jean was trying to convince Annie to tell him what Mikasa was like when she slept in a hushed tone, and was blatantly ignored. Mikasa was discussing the finals with Armin and Sasha, seeing as they had received their schedule earlier that day. Annie tried to keep her eyes in front of her, but couldn't help but narrow her eyes every time Sasha touched her girlfriend.

"Hey guys!" Sasha called out. "Why don't we all gather for a study night. That way we can help each other out with the hard parts, and studying will be so much more fun!"

"Yeah, like we did last Christmas and ended up watching crappy holiday movies instead," Mikasa remarked.

"That was just the two of us, if everyone's there we can check on each other so we keep studying," Sasha said, losing a bit of her enthusiasm.

"All right. I'll do the checking, you do the studying," Ymir said, winking at Krista.

"Come on guys, we still passed the exams, in fact, Mikasa aced them all."

"She always does," Jean said.

"How about we ask our parents to keep an eye on us?" Krista added.

Her comment was followed by complaints about having parents around.

"Fine, I'll do it." Mikasa said. "I'll ask our parents if they are okay with it and then whoever wants can come over. But don't come if you don't plan to study."

With that their argument was settled, and after permission from the Yeagers they agreed on Saturday afternoon. Eventually the whole group ended up going, and for Mikasa, Armin and Krista it was more of a teaching than a studying session. Nonetheless, they were able to review some points by doing so.

Annie and Ymir had the most to catch up on, seeing as they both regularly slept through classes. But by the time Carla asked who stayed for dinner everyone had the most important things down. Sasha, Annie and Armin stayed for dinner and helped preparing the table. When the food was served Annie underestimated Sasha's speed and ended up sitting across from her and Mikasa. She angrily chewed her food as she watched the brunette go on about some pet pig of hers. And being the good listener she was, Mikasa kept her eyes on her the whole time.

When everyone had filled their bellies, Sasha left to run home, where the second course of her dinner waited. Armin followed Eren to his room to play a game. Mikasa helped the Yeagers clean up the table, Annie standing awkwardly to the side.

"Are you not going home yet, Annie?" Grisha asked.

"No, my bike is stuck in traffic," she said dryly. When he didn't get her joke, Annie explained, "It's weekend, we spent the whole day studying, why not hang out a bit." She shrugged and looked at Mikasa. "If you don't mind, that is."

"No, you can stay a bit longer." She led the blonde up the stairs, past a room where Eren's curses crept through the door, paused at the next door and turned the knob. The door only just clicked shut behind them and Annie flung her arms around Mikasa, holding her tight.

"I missed you," she said.

Mikasa replied by kissing her forehead. "I missed this too."

"Don't leave me."

"Why would I ever want to leave you? I love you more than anything in this world."

"You mean that?" Annie asked, looking Mikasa in the eyes.

"Of course I do. Why do you ask?"

"We barely had contact this week and… Sasha was being all… you know…" Annie mumbled.

"Are you jealous?" Annie just looked off to the side, slightly embarrassed. "Aww, that's kinda cute."

"This isn't funny! You two are way too close. How can I be sure there isn't anything going on?" She crossed her arms, eyes getting wet.

"You're really that worried about it?" Annie nodded. "Well, I guess I should tell you then." She sat down on the bed, eyes on the floor. Annie sat down next to her, looking alarmed.

"Three years ago, Sasha and I didn't know each other that long yet, but we were good friends. At some point I realized that what I felt for her was more than friendship. I tried to get closer to her, but I never quite dared to show her how I really felt. One day her parents weren't home and she wanted to try out some beer. Getting drunk, she started talking about boys, how good they looked. I had never heard her talk about something so enthusiastically before, not even about her favorite food. That's when I realized I would never have a chance with her. The next day Eren and I visited Armin, they went to play some game, and I found out where Armin's grandfather hid his drinks. I drunk half a bottle of vodka before they noticed I wasn't watching their game. When they found me I started crying and told them everything. They really helped me pull myself back together, and after that I gave up on her." She looked at Annie. "Sasha never knew and she still treats me the same as she always did. I swear I have no feelings other than friendship left for her." She touched Annie's cheek. "You are the only one for me and I love you so, so much. I would never forgive myself if I ever hurt you." When Annie remained silent she wriggled her hands nervously. "I mean, I really want to be with you but I've never dated anyone before and I'm not sure how to go about this. And I can't just kiss you whenever I want because then everyone will find out. And… do you still want to be with me?"

"Of course! I love you. I just… this is new to me too."

"I want to spent more time with you but finals are coming so I don't know if that'll work out. But after that we have the whole summer we can spend together."

"I don't want to wait till summer. I love you now."

"I love you now too."

Mikasa leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Annie's lips. The blonde kissed her back forcefully, needing, wanting. She lost her hands in the black locks, pulling her girlfriend closer. Mikasa responded in kind, kissing her as if her life depended on it. Their tongues touched, teeth clacking in their eagerness to feel more of each other. A breath escaped Annie as Mikasa's hands started to explore her body, slowly lowering her to the bed. "Annie," Mikasa breathed as her mouth left Annie's lips to trace kisses along her jawline.

The door swung open. "Mikasa, have you seen my-" the rest of Eren's sentence was lost as he caught sight of the girls.

The two quickly broke apart, Annie sitting up and pulling her hood over her brightly red face. Mikasa walked over to him, face just as flushed. "Eren! How many times do I have to tell you to knock!"

"I'm sorry, I had no idea-"

Mikasa grabbed him by his collar. "If you tell anyone. You. Are. Dead."

"Y-yes." His eyes were wide with fear. He had never seen Mikasa this angry before.

"Leave."

She shoved him into the wall behind him, and waited with closing her door until he had run to the safety of his room.

Mikasa leaned against her door, Annie still sat on the bed, an awkward silence hanging between them. "… he isn't gonna tell, is he?" Annie asked after a few minutes.

"I don't think so. He looked as if he was about to shit his pants."

"… So… what now?"

"I don't know. I guess that even if they knock there's still a risk of being found out."

"So you're saying the best way to keep this secret is to not do anything if there are people within like, a hundred meters from us? I can't do that. Just the past week was a hell." She walked up to Mikasa. "I need you." She cupped Mikasa's cheek. "Mikasa," she whispered.

Mikasa's expression softened as she heard her name. "I'm here." She leaned down to kiss Annie's lips. Their touch was no longer as heated, but still spoke of their mutual need to be together.

Their lips only parted when a voice called up the staircase. "It's already past eight. Isn't it time for Armin and Annie to go home?" Grisha shouted.

Annie grunted in displeasure. "I don't want to leave you." She muttered against Mikasa's skin.

Mikasa stared longingly into her eyes, as if she wanted to say "Then don't," but knew she couldn't.

"We should study at my place next time." Annie said.

"And let me guess, I'm your favorite subject. And of course you have to study that first." Mikasa smiled.

"Well, yes."

Mikasa kissed her and shook her head. "You know I can't do that. I'm serious about my studies. No matter how tempting the distractions I can't give in."

"Then don't."

"That's easier said than done, but fine. I'll give it a try. Your place at eleven tomorrow?"

"Okay. Earlier is fine too."

"I'm not waking you up, Annie."

"Damn it." Annie pouted, eliciting a giggle from her girlfriend.

"Come here, give me one last kiss before you go."

When they stepped out to the hall, Eren and Armin just left Eren's room as well. Eren made a noise that sounded like a strangled squeal, and backed up as Annie nearly walked into him, giving him the scariest glare he had ever seen in his life, before she walked down the stairs.

"Eren? What's going on?" Armin looked at Mikasa. "Did something happen when he came looking for his game?"

"Nothing happened, so don't ask," she said coldly, letting her eyes rest on Eren a bit too long for his comfort before returning to her room.

Amin looked at Eren, who was trying his best to return to his usual self. While he was curious as to what had happened, he also knew that if it could even make Mikasa look at Eren like _that_ , it wasn't worth the risk of finding out.

Annie sat on the floor, staring at the open book on the table before her. She looked up to Mikasa on the couch, who was scribbling in a notebook as she flipped through the pages of her math book. The blonde rose to her feet and sat down next to Mikasa, who continued her work. "Mikasa," Annie muttered into her ear.

"Hm…" she hummed in acknowledgment, eyes still focused on her book.

Annie leaned in to kiss her cheek, a small smile forming on Mikasa's lips. Wanting a better reaction out of her girlfriend, Annie lowered her mouth to kiss her jawline. Mikasa wrote down another formula on her notebook. Annie tugged the scarf out of her way, letting her lips travel down her neck. She smiled as the other girl tilted her head ever so slightly, giving her access to more skin. She placed a kiss on the side of her throat.

"Mmmhh." Mikasa pulled away to the side, giving her a look. "Annie. This is exactly why I thought it wouldn't be a good idea to study alone with you." She adjusted her scarf, obscuring her neck from view.

"We've been at it two hours now. Don't you think it is time for a break?" Annie pouted.

Mikasa thought it over. It had taken a lot of her willpower to push Annie away just now. "Let me at least finish this part. We can have a break after that."

Annie toyed with the strings of her hoody as she watched Mikasa return to her scribbling and flipping through pages. After a few minutes she noticed Mikasa glancing at her from the corner of her eye, a small smile forming on her lips. She closed her book, placing it on the table and took her glass, drinking from it as slowly as she could. A single drop rolled over her chin. She tilted her head so it continued its way down her throat. Annie bit her lip as Mikasa slowly removed her scarf and put her glass down.

Mikasa glanced at Annie again, pleased with the reaction that was visible on the girl's face. She finally turned to her, crawling closer over the couch. She bumped their noses together and stared deep in Annie's blue eyes.

"Did you… have anything specific in mind for our break?" She kissed Annie, sucking on her bottom lip as she leaned back. Annie pushed her down as they kissed again, and soon her lips were at her throat again, intent to leave not a single part of Mikasa's body untouched.


	7. Chapter 7: Celebration

**Chapter 7: Celebration**

It was lunchtime on Monday, and for once Annie didn't mind the way Sasha acted with her girlfriend. Eren was having a long conversation with Jean, tensing up every time he heard Mikasa's voice. Annie found it amusing, thinking she should ask Mikasa if she did anything else to him that put him so on edge.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard her name. She looked to see Petra stand at their table. "Annie, could you come with me for a moment?" she asked. The others paused in their chatter, worried that their new friend got into trouble.

Annie ignored their questioning looks and got up, following Petra to the hallway. "What is it?" she asked.

"The principal would like to see you. I think it's just a checkup now that finals are coming. Go see him whenever it fits you best, but please make sure it is this week."

"Okay."

"I see you have some friends now." Petra smiled.

"Yeah."

"I must say, I was surprised when I heard you were coming along on the trip. And with Mikasa as your roommate no less. Just half a year ago you two still got in fights during PE. Truth be told, I am _dying_ to know what happened to change that."

"Hanji paired us up for a group work. We got to know each other a bit along the way."

"I told you making homework was good for your future." Annie smiled at the joke. "And that's Miss Zoe for you. You don't call teachers by their first name, at least not in school." Annie rolled her eyes. "Oh, right! Before I forget, I found this recipe and I thought you might like it." Petra took a folded paper out of her pocket, it looked like it was a page torn from a magazine.

"Thanks." Annie let her eyes glide over the ingredients before she tucked it in her pocket.

"I'll let you get back to your friends now. Good luck with the finals!"

Annie returned to the table, where she was greeted with questioning eyes. "What did she want?" Mikasa asked.

"Something about the finals, nothing important." Annie brushed it off and took a bite from her sandwich.

"Annie! The finals _are_ important!" Mikasa shoved her shoulder.

On Tuesday after classes Annie snuck away from the rest, reaching the principal's office without much people seeing her. She knocked, and Erwin opened the door, smiling as he saw her. "Annie! Come on in, take a seat." He said and sat down behind his desk. Annie did as she was told, and waited for him to start speaking. "Are you studying for the finals?"

"Yeah, I've been studying all weekend."

He nodded. "That's good to hear. I've also heard you're finally getting along with your fellow students."

"Yeah." He smiled at her answer, but then his face grew stern again.

"You know that once you graduate, you really stand on your own. I regret that it has to be this way, but I am not in a position where I have much to say about the matter. But know, that if you're ever having trouble, I'm always here for advice. Don't hesitate to knock on my door." Annie nodded. "What are your plans for after high school?" Erwin asked.

"I don't know yet. I'll probably look for a job."

"Okay. Any news about your dad?" Annie shook her head. "Then I'll look into the paperwork. I know you weren't very informed of how I handled things, but here are the big lines. I am only allowed to look after you for as long as you attend to this school. Since you're eighteen there shouldn't be any trouble about needing foster parents. For the past four years my house has been your official address, because that was the only way to avoid that until now. I did that because you made it very clear that you don't want foster parents. I will reset it to your house once you graduate."

"Thanks," Annie muttered.

"Finals start on Monday, though I'm sure you already knew that. Well now, next time I see you will be when you graduate." He stood and reached out his hand. Annie stood as well, shaking his hand. "It has been a pleasure to watch you grow over the past four years. I'm proud of you, Annie."

Weeks of studying and taking exams passed without much contact between Annie and Mikasa. They both knew that if they spent too much time together they wouldn't score well on the tests. After the exams were over they had five days free before the graduation ceremony at school. They went to movies, raced with the 3DMG and hung out with their friends. Before they knew it, the day of the graduation had come.

Annie sat in her chair, more nervous then she thought she'd be. Besides the students, the room was also filled with everyone's parents. She looked up at Erwin at the stage, who was giving a speech. She didn't really listen to what he said, but when the other students stood and headed for the stage, she quickly followed. They were called up one by one, alphabetically.

Annie's eyes followed Mikasa as she walked up to the principal, received her diploma, shook hands and left for the other side of the stage.

When it was her turn, she almost felt how hundreds of eyes fixated on her. She straightened her back and lifted her chin, the same way she always did to hide her discomfort in the presence of so many people. Erwin looked at her with pride in his eyes as he handed her the paper. He shook her hand and said, "Well done, Annie."

She nodded and left the stage to join the other students. She found Mikasa at the back of the group, and took her chance to give her hand a quick squeeze. Everyone had their eyes on the next student anyway.

When everyone had received their diploma, Erwin spoke a few last words and the crowd applauded. He left the stage and all the parents swarmed to the students in an attempt to congratulate their kids first.

Escaping the chaos, Ymir joined Annie and Mikasa, Krista holding her hand. "I passed! We all did! I can hardly believe our life in high school is over!" she cheered.

"We should totally throw a party!" Sasha exclaimed as the rest of their friends found them too.

"I have a house," Annie said.

"We all have a house, Annie." Ymir rolled her eyes, not catching what the blonde meant.

"Let me correct that; I have a big house, no parents, and if I leave now I'm pretty sure I can get more drinks and snacks you can eat in a night." Annie crossed her arms and grinned.

Ymir's expression brightened. "Are you trying to tell me we can party at your place?"

"If you bring a sleeping bag you can stay as long as you want. Unless of course, you prefer sleeping on the cold floor."

"Annie!" the brunette cheered and hugged her, lifting her in the air in the process.

"Let me go before I change my mind!" Annie looked more surprised than angry, but that was sure to change if her warning was ignored.

Ymir put her down, faster than she had picked her up. The others laughed, and Sasha started hinting at the sorts of drinks and snacks Annie should buy. Annie handed her address and phone number to everyone who was going to come, just in case something came up. Besides, they all were her friends now.

"Well then, I guess I should go shopping before the store closes," Annie said. It was five in the evening and while the store wouldn't close for another two hours, she didn't like being pressed for time. The others scattered to find their parents, and she rushed to the store, knowing she'd have to go twice on her bike to get enough. Nine people could consume a lot.

Once she had everything she needed she made sure the living room was, well, a bit livelier. She fetched a desk from the basement and brought her tv down, surely they'd end up watching some movie. She also took a few chairs from the kitchen. The couch was only big enough to hold four people at most.

Annie had jumped on the idea of a party, surprising even herself as she did so. Then again, she had surprised herself quite a lot since she started hanging out with Mikasa. A part of herself she never knew existed had started coming out. And as she looked around her freshly decorated living room, she felt excited.

By nine o'clock Eren and Mikasa arrived, and they decided on watching tv while they waited for the others to arrive. The girls sat down in the couch, while Eren chose the seat furthest away from them. Noticing that, Annie leaned to Mikasa. "I wanted to ask earlier, but just what did you do to him to make him act like that?" she whispered.

"Whenever we were in the same room I just kept staring daggers at him, all weekend long. I didn't think he'd still be like this after so long. I kinda miss how we used to be, I mean, he is my family after all."

Annie gave her a pat on her leg and looked at the boy. He quickly averted his eyes, suddenly very interested in a commercial. "Maybe he just remembers how I broke his arm three years ago." Annie said.

"That was you?" Mikasa's voice became loud.

"Hey, he asked me to fight him!" Annie raised her hands in defense. "I told him off, but he punched at me, what was I supposed to do?" Mikasa looked at her through narrowed eyes, silent. "I'm sorry," Annie added. She really didn't want to have a fight over something that happened three years ago.

"Fine, I guess I'll let it slide, but just this once." Annie wanted to reply, but the doorbell rang. She went to open the door, seeing Ymir and Krista. She showed them to the living room where Ymir flopped down on the couch.

"You have a very nice house, Annie." Krista said.

"Thanks."

"Where's the beer?" Ymir asked.

"Ymir! At least wait until everyone is here," Krista scolded her before sitting down on Ymir's lap.

"Fine, I'll wait." She patted Krista's head and turned to Annie. "Annie, where's the kitchen? You know, for when the rest gets here." She received a slap from Krista, who was desperately trying to get her girlfriend to show some good manners before she started drinking.

"Down the hall, first door to the left," Annie answered, not really minding Ymir's lack of manners.

As soon as the last person set foot in the living room, Ymir bolted for the kitchen, returning with beers for everyone. The tv channel had been changed for some music, while they talked about their plans for the summer. Soon the table only held empty cans. "How about we play a game?" Ymir asked.

"As long as it's not truth or dare. I still get the chills when I remember last time." Sasha said, shifting uncomfortably in her seat, to which Ymir laughed.

"Then what should we play?" Jean asked.

"How about this, we try to guess something about someone, and when we're right that person has to drink, if we're wrong, we have to drink." Connie said. "Sasha and I do that sometimes."

"All right, I'll get more drinks then," Ymir said, getting up. They all gathered around the table, Annie, Mikasa and Ymir in the couch, the rest preferring the floor to the chairs.

"So, where do we start?" Eren asked. Everyone looked at him. "Oh. Fine, make a guess."

"You have a crush on Mikasa," Jean said quickly.

"What? No, I don't. Now drink up, horseface."

Jean huffed and opened his can, while the others focused their attention on Armin. They all were silent for a while, trying to think of something. "You asked Hannah out after our last exam," Ymir said. Armin stared at her for a few seconds, then slowly lifted his beer to his blushing face.

"You did? I had no idea you even liked her," Eren said.

"How did it go?" Jean asked.

"We went on a date, nothing really happened, but we're meeting again on Sunday." Armin replied with a shy smile.

"All right man, keep it up!" Eren patted him on the shoulder.

Now everyone's attention turned to Jean. He suddenly looked panicked. "You aren't going to guess my crush, are you?" he said, eyes lingering on Mikasa.

Ymir smiled, leaning forward a bit, but Mikasa was faster. "Isn't the point of the game to guess at something not everyone knows yet?"

"You know? I-I mean, all of you?"

"Hard to miss," Annie said. "And my guess is you still wet the bed at night when you were five."

"Fuck you, Annie," he grunted and brought his beer to his mouth again. The group erupted in laughter, Jean trying to divert his embarrassment by saying it was Krista's turn.

"You have a large poster of Ymir on your wall!" Connie said.

"There's nothing on my walls." She shook her head.

"Ymir! You lied to me!" Connie shouted.

"No I didn't. I said I got a poster of me and put it up in her room. Did I forget to say it was at her ceiling?" Ymir tapped her chin with her finger as if she was deep in thought.

"Fuck you." Connie sipped from his beer.

"Why didn't you take it down yet? You don't look like you're the type to want that," Mikasa asked Krista.

"She put it right above my bed. I can't reach it. And if my parents see it they're _never_ going to let her in my house again, so I can't ask them either."

"Just what kind of a poster is that?" Sasha asked curiously, to which Krista, and even Ymir blushed. She didn't get an answer, which told her all she needed to know.

"But now it's your turn, Ymir, I'll get back to you." Connie said, thinking hard.

"You're the bottom." Mikasa said, surprising everyone.

Ymir glared at her. "You do realize you're next, Ackerman?" she gulped at her beer and continued. "You had a crush on Sasha."

Mikasa hated that she couldn't drink and hide behind her scarf at the same time.

"What? You had a crush on me? When? How? Why didn't you tell me?" Sasha asked, but Mikasa stared at her hands, refusing to say another word.

"Annie's next." Jean broke the silence. "Ymir, you're good at this, get payback for what she did to me."

"Sure, if that means you owe me." She smirked at Annie, having full confidence that the girl would drink to her following words. "You're a lesbian."

"What?" Annie said. Sure, she loved Mikasa, but did that make her a lesbian?

"Well, is it true?" Jean asked when she didn't move or speak after that.

"I-I never thought about that. I don't know."

"What do you mean, you've never thought about it? You've been checking out girls since day one!" Ymir threw her hands up.

"She could also be bi, or you could be completely wrong. You don't know everything, Ymir. Drink up." Mikasa said.

"If she doesn't know, then why do I have to drink?"

"We could just let this one slide, since we don't know who is wrong," Krista reasoned.

"All right, my turn. Guess away!" Sasha opened her arms wide.

The game continued until they started running out of beer, as well as sensible guesses. Connie turned up the volume of the tv and dared Ymir to a dance battle, the others watching them at first, then soon the other guys joined them.

"I'm stepping outside for a bit. I need some fresh air." Mikasa said, leaving through the back door.

She shivered, once the sun was down it quickly became cold. She took deep breaths, trying to clear her foggy mind.

"Hey." She looked up to see Sasha.

"Hey," she said and closed her eyes, she really shouldn't have drunk that much.

"Um… do you wanna talk about it?" the brunette asked.

"Talk about what?"

"… Your crush on me."

Mikasa looked at her, blinking a few times to clear her blurry vision. "Right, that happened. But there isn't much to talk about. That happened three years ago. I got over it."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I didn't dare to. I'm really no good with that kind of stuff. If she didn't wake up then-" Mikasa stopped mid-sentence, she had almost outed their relationship.

"Then what? Wake up? What are you talking about?"

"Never mind me, Sasha, my head is a mess right now."

"Not used to alcohol?"

"Does it look like I am?" Mikasa looked up at the stars. The view was nice outside the city.

"Hey." Annie joined them.

"Need some fresh air too?" Sasha asked.

"No. they've started to dance in pairs. Armin is barely able to stand so he can't, Eren paired up with Jean, Krista with Ymir of course. And I didn't want to dance with Connie, or at all. Why don't you go?"

"I can dance with Connie? Seriously?"

"Yeah, and why don't you kiss him while you're at it."

"I can't just do that!" Sasha went bright red and she hurried inside.

"I really don't get how they're not together yet," Annie said.

Mikasa sat down, leaning against the wall. "I'm sorry."

"About what?" Annie asked, sitting down next to her.

"I almost ended up telling her about us. I didn't want to, but I barely know what I'm saying anymore. I really shouldn't drink."

"There's an easy way to avoid that."

"How?"

"We go to my room and lock the door. If there's no one around you can't talk to them."

"Wouldn't they notice we're both gone?"

"It's already past one am. It wouldn't be _that_ strange. C'mon." Annie pulled her up, and they headed for her room. Annie put her chair against the door, since she didn't really have a lock.

Mikasa kicked off her shoes and flopped down on the bed. Annie followed her example.

"So, what now?" the raven-haired girl asked.

"You should come over more. This bed is too big for me anyway."

"Anytime. I love you." She rolled over and hugged the blonde.

"I love you too."


	8. Chapter 8: Unwanted Guest

**Chapter 8: Unwanted Guest**

Annie sat down on her couch with a glass of ice cold water. She looked outside, where the hot summer sun was scorching the grass. She took a sip, wondering if she should go outside with her 3DMG in this heat. At least the wind would keep her from instantly combusting into a fireball.

Suddenly she heard the front door open, and she turned around in surprise. No one had the key to her door. She saw the shadow of a man stepping into the hallway, the sound of clinking keys right before the door shut. "Annie, I'm home!" the man called, his familiar voice nearly making her shiver.

"Dad?" she asked, not quite sure any of this was happening.

He appeared in the doorway, a heavy bag in his left hand, the keys still in the other.

"Hey. Feels good to be home again," he said, placing his bag on the floor and looking around.

She stared at him. It really was her father. "Dad? What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean? This is my home as much as it is yours."

"Well, it's just, you've been gone for so long."

"I know, kid. But look at you, all grown up!" He placed a large hand on her head and ruffled her hair, not noticing how she flinched away from his touch.

As he stretched and looked around, Annie took her phone out of her pocket, intending to let Mikasa know her dad was back home. Before she could finish her text however, he snatched the phone out of her hands.

"What is this?" he demanded.

"My phone. I know it looks stupid but it was cheap. Mind giving it back?"

"I sent you money every single month so you could pay the bills and feed yourself. Now I hear you're spending it on things like this?"

"What are you talking about? Everyone and their mom has a cellphone these days!"

"Well, you are my daughter, not 'everyone and their mom,'" he snapped at her.

"You weren't even here, dad! You can't just come back after four years and start complaining about how I live!" she grabbed for her phone, but he pulled it out of her reach.

"Let's see what caused you to rebel like this." He pressed a hand on her head, forcing her to stay in the couch. He flipped the phone open, reading her unfinished message out loud. "Sweetie, my dad just came home. I don"

He looked at her as if she was something filthy. "So you have a boyfriend now? Did you forget what I told you before I left? Didn't I say you shouldn't trust those idiots? Didn't I tell you to focus on your studies until I came back? Do I mean _nothing_ to you?" he sneered at her.

Annie stared back at him, doing her best to ignore the fear building up inside. "I'm eighteen, dad. I'm old enough to choose for myself who I can trust and who I don't. I've been living just fine on my own these past four years. I graduated, I'm _happy_ , and none of it has anything to do with you, _because you weren't there_. Now give me back my phone," she said, sounding braver than she felt.

"It seems like I'll have to re-educate you. And I'll start with this." He tilted his arm back, and before Annie could stop him, he threw her phone against the wall, shattering it in pieces. "You are grounded."

Annie went to take a look at the remains of her phone, hoping at least her sim card was intact. Luckily for her it was, and she hid it in her hand as she walked past her dad, up to her room. If she could sneak out she could replace the phone and still have Mikasa's number. Hell, she should just visit the girl herself as soon as she could.

Once she was in her room she hid the card in a drawer, hoping her dad wouldn't go as far as to search her room. It all now came back to her, the way he treated her. She was only fourteen when he left, and while she had been relieved the first two days, the hardships of living on her own soon made her forget about it.

xxx

Now needing to figure out how to cook, shopping for groceries on her bike, keeping the house clean. And on top of that she still had to study, not to mention her body growing into that of an adult, without anyone to give her words of advice or comfort.

As a result, she had given up on getting good grades. After a few months principal Erwin had called her to his office, to see why her usually good grades had plummeted so drastically. She had given him a bunch of crappy answers to his questions, until he decided that he wanted to meet her parents on the matter.

"I- that's not possible." She had answered, causing him to raise one of his famous brows.

"And why would that be?" he asked, not expecting this turn of events.

"My dad left, and didn't say when he'll come back. I live on my own." She mumbled, staring at her feet.

"And your mother?" he asked carefully.

"Died when I was born."

He nodded in understanding. "I could ask for someone where you could move in with. In our elementary school a girl lost her parents to an accident a couple of years ago. The parents of a classmate of hers took her in without a problem. And if that doesn't work we can look for a foster family for you. That way you won't have to worry about anything other than your studies."

Annie had started shaking her head before he even finished his first sentence. "I'm fine. My dad sends me money and I'm still passing my tests. Besides, I should be home when he comes back. He said he would. He just doesn't know yet when that'll be."

Erwin sighed. He had seen Mr. Leonhardt once before, and there truly was no talking to that man.

"Very well. But you must understand that I can't just let a young girl like yourself live like this. I will ask the lunch lady to prepare dinner for you, and I'll send Miss Ral to help you out during the weekends."

"But I don't want-"

"Annie. This is final. I will also come to talk with you once a month to see how you are holding up." Annie glared at him with such an intensity it nearly made him shiver. She truly was the daughter of Mr. Leonhardt. "Once I see that you can take care of yourself and still get decent grades I will leave you be, but if anything ever happens, know that I'm here."

"Fine," she grunted.

Despite their agreement, Annie hardly ever went home with the dinner she was offered. She rarely ever spoke when Petra came over. She worked hard so Erwin no longer had a reason to check on her, a fact he reluctantly accepted after a year.

xxx

Annie sat on her bed, looking out the window, the sunny world out there no longer reflecting how she felt inside. All the happiness she had felt these last few months, all the friends she made, gone. It would've been better if she had just met with Mikasa in the library for their group work, or even let her down completely. That way they never would've gotten close, and her life wouldn't change much when her dad returned. Instead she now suffered. And deep down inside she always knew. She knew all along she wasn't made for a happy life. She always had to fight. It was the way she had lived and survived until now. She always struggled by herself, and she always would. Her time with Mikasa was just a glimpse of hope. Hope for a life she was never meant to have, a life that never belonged to her. Her father came up to her room every thirty minutes, checking if she was still there. He didn't actually speak to her until a few hours passed.

"I checked the bills. It seems like you threw a party," he said coldly.

"… We graduated." Annie said, deciding the truth was best for now.

"Like I care! I did not give you permission to let anyone in my house! I did not give you permission to party!"

"Dad, I'm an adult now. I don't need permission from my parents. Besides, it's not like we broke anything."

"That's it, the re-education starts now." He grabbed her by her bangs, pulling her along down the stairs.

"Ow! Dad, I can walk on my own!"

"I did not teach you to complain about pain so easily. How could you let yourself become so soft?"

He dragged her to the basement, where he put on boxing gloves. Without a warning he swung his fist at her, and she instinctively raised her arms, stepping to the side.

Five minutes passed, and he still swung his fists at her. No matter the techniques she knew, no matter how many opponents she beat, she never was able to pull out the best of her skills against her dad. Bruises littered her forearms. She winced at every punch hitting her. Finally he made it past her defense, knocking her to the floor.

"Get up, Annie." Annie pushed herself on her knees, her arms screaming in protest. "Come on, you can do better than that!" he sneered and kicked her in the stomach. She coughed as she hit the cold stone, no longer having the will to get up. "Pathetic." Her dad shook his head, removing the boxing gloves. He walked up the stairs, turning the light off, leaving her to lie in the dark.

How had she forgotten this? Getting beaten up by your father isn't normal. Oh, right. It was normal. To her at least. If he had never left, she probably wouldn't have thought of it as wrong. It would've been life, the way it had always been. And if anyone asked about the bruises, she'd just say it was from practice, because that's what she thought it was.

Tears rolled over her cheeks, but no sound ever followed. How much easier it would've been if she never met Mikasa. Then she wouldn't miss her. Then she could just mindlessly do what her father commanded. Then she could just take whatever the world threw at her in the same uncaring way she always had.

Mikasa checked her phone. She and Annie had agreed that they would spend more time together, but it seemed her phone was broken.

"You know, if you stopped checking your phone every five minutes, you might actually win," Eren said, as he paused their game.

"It's been two days. Every time I try to text or call her, it says her phone can't be reached. I can still text with Armin and Sasha, so I don't think it's my phone."

"Maybe she just lost her charger. Happens to me all the time. She'll be texting you again before you know it. Now, are we still playing?"

"…You're probably right. Let's play." Mikasa said, not really feeling up for anything.

Annie looked out the window to her back yard. Black smoke rose to the sky as her dad threw all of her pictures onto the fire. The bruise on her cheekbone still hurt, and would soon be the only thing to remind her not to spend money on printing photographs.

She looked at the wall in front of her, all the paintings she made there since she started hanging out with Mikasa, slowly disappearing behind white paint.

"None of this would've happened if you had left me to myself," she hissed, tears rolling over her cheeks as she added another stroke of white to the wall. "Yet I want nothing more than you holding me. I'd feel safe. I'd be home." She sobbed. "Mikasa." She sunk to the floor, head leaning against the freshly painted wall. Salty drops formed a puddle on the floor, her throat hurt with the effort of holding back her cries, yet this was so much easier than to let it all out. She clutched at her chest, feeling the sting of a wound that wasn't really there.

A hand grabbed her hair, yanking her away from the wall. "I sure hope you weren't planning on painting with your hair." her father said. He saw her tear struck face, and threw her to the ground. "Get over it! I didn't raise you to be weak. You're not leaving this room until that wall is done!" He shouted, smacking the door shut behind him.

Annie squeezed her eyes shut. "Mikasa," she mouthed.

Mikasa walked to the kitchen, where Carla was washing the dishes. "I'm going to Annie." She said.

"Did she finally answer?"

"No, but it's been four days. I'm worried. I'm going to see what's going on."

"I can drive you, just wait a minute an I'll be done here."

Carla parked the car across the road from Annie's house. Mikasa got out and felt a knot form in her stomach as she saw a black landrover in front of the house. Was someone else checking on her? But she didn't remember any of her friends' families having a black car. She rung the bell and waited.

When the door opened and she stared at the face of a man she didn't know.

"You." His eyes narrowed. "The girl from the pictures," he said. "Leave. We don't want you here." Without waiting for a reply he shut the door.

Mikasa blinked, trying to process what just happened. A shout came from behind the house. Mikasa looked to her left as she heard hurried footsteps.

Annie rounded the corner, wearing a black tank top and short jeans, her bruises in clear view. She ran into Mikasa, nearly knocking her over, and held her tightly.

"Mikasa." Her voice was weak, as if she was on the verge of crying.

"Annie!" her father called angrily.

Annie let go of Mikasa, turning to the man. She lifted her bruised arms to defend against his coming fist, her eyes shut in anticipation of the pain. But the pain never came. Slowly, she opened her eyes.

Mikasa's hand was wrapped around her father's fist, her eyes speaking murder.

"Why you bitch!" he shouted and threw another punch at Mikasa.

She dodged, putting pressure on the hand she held, forcing the man to his knees. Glaring up at her, he let himself fall back, kicking at her stomach, releasing himself. He quickly got up, just in time to block Mikasa's punch. He replied in kind, but his strike was evaded.

They both were skilled fighters, dealing blows to each other in an unrelenting pace. Neither seemed to get the upper hand, but when sirens came closer, they paused. Holding their fighting stance, eyes focused on each other, not willing to risk getting hit over looking at the police car.

The siren stopped as the police car parked on the front lawn. Two men got out of the vehicle, jogging up to them.

"What's going on here?" one of them asked.

Mr. Leonhardt lowered his arms. "She rung the bell, but I told her we didn't want any visitors. Then she started throwing punches at me."

"You smacked the door in my face. When Annie came running to me I was the only reason she didn't get hit. Who are you anyway?"

"I am Annie's father. This is my house, and who are you to think that trespassing is okay?" He crossed his arms and looked down on her.

"I am Annie's friend, which is something you might have known if you had actually been here in the past four years."

"Calm down, everyone," one of the officers cut in. "We can see that you have a disagreement, but I'm sure we can clear this up."

"Alright then, help me clear things up for this kid." Mr. Leonhardt nodded at Mikasa.

"Sir, I will have to ask you why your daughter's arms are completely bruised."

"I'm teaching her to defend herself, as you can see she still has a long way to go.

The policemen asked more questions and wrote down both of their stories, while Annie refused to say a word, still clutching a handful of Mikasa's shirt.

Carla finally stepped out of her car and joined them. "I'm glad you arrived here so fast," she said.

"Are you the one who called us?" the taller of the two policemen asked.

"Yes."

"I see. For now I think it is best if we take you all to the station, for further investigation. Our car is not big enough for all of you, so I propose that you, ma'am, take the girl with you." He pointed at Annie. "And you two can sit in the back of the police car."

"Why can't I take my own car? And why should I trust _her_ with _my_ daughter?" Mr. Leonhardt asked.

"Don't worry sir, my colleague will sit in the car with them. Now, if you would be so kind." He gestured with his arm in the direction of the police car.

Annie grabbed Mikasa's arm with her free hand, whispering weakly, "Don't leave me, please."

Mikasa turned around and hugged her. "I can't go against police orders, Annie, but I'll be there as soon as we get to the station." She gently rubbed her back.

"Hey! Little bitch, what the fuck do you think you're doing?" Mr. Leonhardt shouted, clearly not intent on sitting in the car just yet.

Mikasa scowled at him. "Are you truly such a bad father you don't even know what it looks like when someone is being comforted?"

If the officer had not drawn his attention at that moment, he was sure to have attacked both girls. "Sir, the car. We will settle this matter at the station in a proper manner." He glared viciously at Mikasa for a moment longer, then took a seat in the back of the police car. The officer then turned to Annie and spoke in a gentle tone, "Annie, will you come with me to the other car? You will be safe there." Annie shook her head, not wanting to let Mikasa go. "I can understand how you're feeling, Annie, I really do. But I believe your father will be calmer if you are alone in a different car."

Annie turned her head so he couldn't look at her anymore. She knew he had a point, but she didn't care. All she wanted was to stay with Mikasa, and never let her go again. "Annie," Mikasa said softly, "I'll see you again at the station and everything will be fine."

"But I wanna stay with you," Annie said in a quiet, muffled voice. Mikasa stroked her hair and gave the officer an apologetic look.

The man sighed. "Look Annie, I can let you two stay together for the ride, but we will need to take your statement at the station. That means you will be alone in a room with an officer. If you feel better talking to a woman, that is possible, but we can't let your friend in the room with you. As soon as we have both your stories you can see each other again. Do you understand this?"

"Yeah," she muttered.

"Alright, you two can go ahead to the car now." He straightened his back and turned to his coworker. "I have no choice but to let them stay together for now, I'll see you when we get there."

Annie and Mikasa sat in the back seat of Carla's car, the officer in the passenger seat in the front. Annie buried her face in Mikasa's shoulder. Tears soaked Mikasa's shirt, and she gave Annie a kiss on her forehead. "You're safe. I'm here," she whispered.

"I thought I'd never see you again."

"I told you before, didn't I? You won't get rid of me that easily. You're stuck with me for the rest of your life."

Annie looked up, managing a weak smile. "Is that a proposal?"

"What? Um, don't you think it's a bit soon for anything like that?"

"It was a joke, you dork." She gazed into Mikasa's eyes. "I love you." She lowered her eyelids and let her lips catch Mikasa's for the first time in what seemed like ages.

Mikasa's eyes widened, her eyes flickering to the front of the car as her girlfriend pulled back. "Annie!" she hissed. Realizing where she was, Annie flushed bright red, and hid her face in Mikasa's shoulder again. Mikasa was glad she still wore her scarf, pulling it up over her nose. She wasn't sure if her mom saw, but the policeman had kept his eyes on them during the whole ride.

When they arrived at the police station they were taken in for questioning separately. Annie explained to them how her dad had left four years earlier, and that if it wasn't for the principal at her school she wouldn't have been able to adjust to living on her own. She told them what her plans had been until her father suddenly came home. How he treated her just the same way he used to, with the difference that she now realized that wasn't normal at all.

Once they were done with her they went to call Erwin for confirmation on the matter, and let Mikasa in the room with her. "How do you feel?" she asked her as she sat down in the chair next to her.

"A lot better now you're here."

"I'm so sorry I didn't come looking for you any sooner."

"I tried to run away a few times." Annie climbed onto her lap, wanting to be close. "But he was always there, even during the night, like he just _knew_ when I tried to leave." Mikasa remained silent, holding her gently. "When he came home he acted as if he had been gone for only a few hours, not four years. I wanted to text you, but he took my phone and smashed it. I think the sim is still okay, though."

"We'll look for a new phone together." Mikasa placed a kiss on her brow.

"I'd like that." Annie shifted, wincing as she did so.

"Where are you hurting?" Mikasa asked worried.

"Where am I not."

Mikasa took a moment to look at the bruises. Most of them were purple, the one on her cheek checkered with yellow and green, they should be able to heal in a week or so. Her forearms however, did not look that good. Dark purple colored her skin, some spots showing signs of internal bleeding.

"You need a doctor. I'm calling my dad. He should be about done with work by now anyway." Ignoring Annie's halfhearted protests, she pulled her phone out of her pocket. She had to wait a few seconds before he picked up.

"Dad, can you come to the police station? Annie really needs a doctor."

 _"Hold on, what happened?"_

"She got hit, a lot. These bruises are looking really bad, could you just come over? She can explain things herself."

 _"All right, I'll be there in fifteen minutes."_

"Thanks." Mikasa hung up. She hadn't explained much since she knew Annie wouldn't like it.

"I feel so stupid," Annie said.

"Why?" Mikasa frowned.

"You fought with him the same way you fight with me, and yet I'm too weak to defend myself at all." She turned her head away, not wanting to look at Mikasa.

"Annie, you're not weak. I remember the first person who I fought with that beat me. I wasn't able to ever fight at my best against them again."

"And in what world is being afraid not the same as being weak?" Annie's voice shook, as if she was trying to hold back tears.

"The ones who know no better than to use violence are weak, because without their fists, they are nothing. And you Annie, you are so much more than a good fighter. You are independent, you are the best cook I've ever met, you are kind. You have so many talents, you're creative and always find ways to surprise me. You're beautiful. You are everything I want. You're perfect." Annie finally looked at her, smiling shyly.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Grisha Yeager stood in the open door, an officer to his side. Mikasa pulled her scarf up, now the cat really was out the bag. "Now, let me see your injuries, Annie." Annie stood up and Grisha got to work, inspecting her bruises.

With the help of Erwin Smith, the police were able to make an accurate file of how Mr. Leonhardt had treated his daughter, even before he left. They tracked down his moves in the last four years, finding out he was involved with weapon smuggling. They found enough on him to keep him behind bars for a long time.

Weeks passed and Annie recovered to full health. She stayed with the Yeagers during that time, seeing as they were too worried to let her return to living on her own right away. They treated her as if she had always been a part of their family, and maybe one day, she really would be.

When she finally returned to her house, Mikasa came with her, their first stop being Annie's room. "It's so… empty," Mikasa said.

"Dad burnt all the pictures. I still have them on my computer, but…" she grabbed her camera. "I'd rather make new ones." She looked at Mikasa. "Together."

Mikasa smiled. "That'd be nice." Mikasa glanced up at the ceiling and her smile turned into a naughty grin. "How about a poster of me on your ceiling?"

"What?"

"You know, the same way Ymir is hanging on Krista's."

"Oh my god, Mikasa!" Annie shoved her. Mikasa laughed. She loved teasing Annie.

Days passed, and together they made the house livelier. Paintings on the walls of the living room, plenty of sleepovers, and occasionally inviting their friends over.

Though with a rough start, this summer truly was the most fun time of Annie's life.


	9. Epilogue: When The Storm Is Over

Epilogue: When The Storm Is Over

It was November now, and the days quickly shortened. The sun had already set as Annie unlocked her front door, and hung her coat on the hook. A smile appeared on her face when she saw a flickering light coming from under the door of the living room. She entered and put her bag down next to the couch, where Mikasa was sleeping peacefully. She leaned down to stroke a dark strand of hair away, and placed a tender kiss upon her soft cheek. Mikasa stirred and slowly opened her eyes to look at her girlfriend.

"Hey there, sleeping beauty." Annie softly said.

"Hi," Mikasa replied, her voice still thick with sleep. She pushed herself up and made space for Annie to sit next to her. "How was the academy?"

"If I knew I had to talk so much to become a police officer, I would've taken the practice in high school."

Mikasa chuckled and kissed Annie on her cheek. "What are we going to eat?"

"I don't know, I don't feel like cooking."

"I saw you had some soup left in the kitchen."

"Yeah, but that's not a meal though. Are you up for cooking, by any chance?"

"No, but we could call for a pizza."

"Sounds good. I'll have the same as usual."

"Oh, so I'm making the call."

"Got that right." Annie stood up. "I'm gonna warm up the soup, do you want some?"

Mikasa nodded and picked her phone up from the table. While she placed the order, Annie turned on the stove and took two bowls and spoons. She leaned against the counter as she waited for the soup to warm, and let her gaze wander over to the window, where raindrops lit up in the light that escaped through it. Although they had been in the same class for years, they only really started to get to know one another on a rainy night much like this one. It had not even been a year, but they had come a long way since then. Love was a crazy thing, making it so easy to open up to someone, and allowing them to change your life with such ease you didn't even notice until you looked back on life.

Mikasa entered the kitchen, pulling Annie from her thoughts. "You're smiling." Annie hummed in response, and allowed Mikasa to wrap her arms around her. "The pizza will be here at twenty past six." She pecked Annie on the lips, who kissed back before turning around in Mikasa's arms to check on the soup.

After she had poured them both a bowl, Annie asked her, "How did your week go?"

"Oh, I'm learning so many amazing things in my psychology classes, and there's still so much left to go before the exams start. And I love trying out what I learn when I talk to people, or even just watching them in the gym. For example, we were covering a part of body language this week, and when I went to the gym in the evening, there's this guy that always tries to stand out in subtle ways. Really it's not _that_ subtle, but…"

Annie listened eagerly as Mikasa brought up more details about her between class-studies, and only stopped when the bell rang for their pizza.

"I'll clean up." Annie offered when they had eaten their fill.

"Thanks. I'll be in the shower then." She pecked Annie on the cheek and left.

Their weekends often went like this. After Annie's bruises had healed, she had applied to the police academy, and after passing the tests, she was finally allowed to start training halfway through October. Mikasa had chosen a degree in psychology, and after summer ended she stayed over at Annie's each weekend. Sometimes they'd cook together, other times they ordered something, like they had today. The majority of their Friday evenings were often spent in Annie's room, where they'd snuggle close under the blankets while watching a movie.

It was on weekends like this, that Annie's house felt more like home to her than it ever did before.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

I decided to post all of the rest now because I'm leaving an abusive home and will thus be homeless for a while. For more info there's a link to my tumblr on my profile page.

I hoped you enjoyed the story.


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